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By Jon Vankin
Contributing Sports Writer
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The struggling Boston Red Sox, already off to a brutal start, were hit with another setback Wednesday as the club placed key reliever Justin Slaten on the 15-day injured list, a move that raises new concerns about a bullpen that has already cost Boston multiple games.
Slaten was unavailable to pitch Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers due to what the Red Sox called "side soreness," according to a report by Chris Cotillo of MassLive. At the time, manager Alex Cora told reporters, "I don’t want to call it an oblique." But that is exactly what the Red Sox said the problem with Slaten was when they announced he would head to the IL with "a right oblique strain."
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Slaten was forced to sit out from June 28 to Aug. 28 of last year with right shoulder inflammation, and right elbow inflammation cost Slaten about six weeks in 2024, his first season with the Red Sox after the club picked him up in a trade with the New York Mets for minor league left-hander Ryan Ammons and cash.
The trade was part of a deal with the Mets on Dec. 6, 2023, in which the Mets agreed to select Slaten in the Rule 5 Draft from the Texas Rangers, then immediately trade him to Boston. The Rangers picked Slaten in the third round in 2019 out of New Mexico, but he never pitched in the major leagues for Texas.
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"I want to be healthy. I want to help contribute," Slaten said on Wednesday, as quoted by reporter Christopher Smith of MassLive. "This is the third year that I’ve had to miss time. I can promise you, like, no one’s more upset or feels worse about it than me. Part of our job is to be healthy for 162."
Slaten added to Smith, however, that he felt it was "the smart thing" to take an IL stint at this time, in hopes of preventing the oblique injury from becoming "something major."
The Red Sox have opened the season at 3-8, a .273 winning percentage, which is worst in MLB heading into Wednesday's games. The bullpen has struggled along with every other part of the team, posting a 3.95 ERA, 15th of the 30 MLB teams, while being charged with five of the Red Sox's eight losses.
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