The Boston Red Sox placed left-hander James Paxton on the 15-day injured list because of a strained right calf, one of several roster moves Monday.
The Red Sox also reinstated right-hander Brayan Bello from the paternity list, and he started the home game Monday night against the Texas Rangers.
In addition, Boston brought up first baseman Mickey Gasper, right-hander Chase Shugart and left-hander Bailey Horn from Triple-A Worcester. The team optioned lefty Brennan Bernardino and right-hander Brad Keller to Worcester and designated second baseman Jamie Westbrook for assignment.
Boston also suspended All-Star outfielder Jarren Duran for two games without pay Monday after he was heard using a homophobic slur toward a fan during Sunday’s game.
The Red Sox said they issued the suspension “in consultation with Major League Baseball,” and Duran’s salary from the two suspended games will be donated to PFLAG (Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).
Duran, 27, will sit out games against the visiting Texas Rangers on Monday and Tuesday.
Paxton, 35, underwent an MRI on Monday on the right calf he strained just five pitches into his start Sunday, which the Houston Astros won, 10-2.
“He’s in pain,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday. “We’ll see what happens.”
Paxton limped off the field after moving to cover first base on Yordan Alvarez’s grounder to first baseman Dominic Smith with two outs in the opening inning. Alvarez beat Smith to the bag for an infield single.
Cora and a trainer visited Paxton, who limped to the dugout with the aid of the trainer. Right-hander Lucas Sims replaced Paxton.
“It just felt like I got kicked in the calf,” Paxton said after the game. “Then I kind of turned around, took another step and felt it again, and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s not good.'”
Boston traded for Paxton, who played for the Red Sox in 2023, on July 26, sending minor league infielder Moises Bolivar to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Overall, Paxton is 9-3 with a 4.40 ERA in 21 starts this season.
Paxton is a career 73-41 with a 3.77 ERA in 177 starts for the Seattle Mariners (2013-18, 2021), New York Yankees (2019-20), Red Sox (2023, 2024) and Dodgers (2024).
“I was feeling really good,” said Paxton, who faced only three batters Sunday. “I was really looking forward to helping this team go where they want to. Hopefully, I can come back here at some point before the end. We haven’t gotten any imaging yet, so we don’t know what the severity is, so we’ll see. It hurts.”
Bello, 25, entered Monday at 10-5 this season with a 5.16 ERA, 41 walks and 109 strikeouts in 111 2/3 innings over 21 starts.
Bernardino, 32, is 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA, 17 walks and 40 strikeouts in 40 innings over 43 games (two starts) this season.
Keller, 29, is 0-1 with one save, a 5.66 ERA, seven walks and 17 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings over 10 relief appearances since signing with the Red Sox as a free agent on May 26.
Westbrook, 29, was hitting .150 (6-for-40) in 21 games this season.
Rookie Horn, 26, is 1-1 with a 6.39 ERA, six walks and 10 strikeouts in 12 2/2 innings over nine relief appearances for Boston this season.
Gasper, 28, and Shugart, 27, could be in line to make their major league debuts.
–Field Level Media