The timing could not be worse. Boston is riding one of the best stretches in franchise history, and now the front office has to plug a bullpen hole in the middle of it. MLB Trade Rumors broke the news that the Red Sox placed right-hander Zack Kelly on the 60-day injured list, a corner-of-the-page transaction that suddenly matters a lot more given where this team is right now.
Red Sox Place Zack Kelly On 60-Day Injured List t.co/mcvWs7U6w3
Kelly's path here has been a grind. He was optioned to Triple-A Worcester back on May 22, landed on the minor league injured list a couple weeks later, and was only recalled before immediately being routed to the big league IL. The issue is right elbow trouble that's been described as a stress reaction in his olecranon, and reporting since has pointed toward Kelly needing surgery to reattach the ulnar nerve — the kind of procedure that lines up with the 60-day window and likely knocks him out until close to September, right as the postseason picture comes into focus.
This isn't Kelly's first rodeo with that elbow. He's already had internal brace surgery on his UCL back in 2020 and went through an ulnar nerve transposition revision in 2023. A guy who's had this much wear and tear on one joint being shut down again isn't shocking, but it's still a blow for a bullpen that Boston is leaning on hard during a stretch where the Red Sox have reportedly won 14 straight games — the second-longest streak in franchise history, with a shot at tying the all-time record.
Losing a reliever mid-heater is never ideal, but it does clarify things for Craig Breslow and the front office. Boston looked like sellers at the start of July; now, with the win streak flipping the calculus, indications are the Red Sox could be buyers before the August 3rd deadline, and bullpen help specifically has already been floated as a target area. Kelly's absence just adds another name to that shopping list.
None of this erases what Boston has done over the last few weeks, but it's a reminder that a run like this comes with attrition. The Red Sox now have to keep winning without one of their bullpen arms, all while trying to figure out whether this stretch is real enough to spend on at the deadline.