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BOSTON — When the Red Sox needed an available spot Tuesday in order to add starter Brayan Bello to the team’s active roster, reliever Zack Kelly was a somewhat predictable choice to be the odd man out.
Kelly had compiled a 9.00 ERA in seven appearances. In a wild outing Sunday, he hit two batters, helping to lead to a loss to the lowly White Sox, likely sealing his fate.
But the Red Sox believe Kelly can return at some point and help their bullpen.
“We talked to him,” said Alex Cora. “We told him to turn the page on the last (appearance), the way that went. I think it’s (a matter of) consistency. One good outing a week - is that good enough? Well, it helps. But we know there’s more there. We do know that.
“This guy can be a back-end reliever for a championship-caliber team. We just have to get there. The whole thing about projections, we have to turn the page and we have to execute. And he knows it.”
Cora said the Sox might advise Kelly to narrow his pitch mix somewhat while at Worcester.
“I truly believe sometimes it’s too much,” said Cora. “To get three outs, we’re trying to use every weapon instead of just being on the attack and getting people out. He did a good job throwing first-pitch strikes, but it just didn’t happen consistently.”
The Sox ultimately chose to hold onto Josh Winckowski, who’s shown the ability to go multiple innings.
“(Kelly) will back at one point,” Cora said, “although there are no promises, and he’s going to help us win games.”
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Kelly had compiled a 9.00 ERA in seven appearances. In a wild outing Sunday, he hit two batters, helping to lead to a loss to the lowly White Sox, likely sealing his fate.
But the Red Sox believe Kelly can return at some point and help their bullpen.
“We talked to him,” said Alex Cora. “We told him to turn the page on the last (appearance), the way that went. I think it’s (a matter of) consistency. One good outing a week - is that good enough? Well, it helps. But we know there’s more there. We do know that.
“This guy can be a back-end reliever for a championship-caliber team. We just have to get there. The whole thing about projections, we have to turn the page and we have to execute. And he knows it.”
Cora said the Sox might advise Kelly to narrow his pitch mix somewhat while at Worcester.
“I truly believe sometimes it’s too much,” said Cora. “To get three outs, we’re trying to use every weapon instead of just being on the attack and getting people out. He did a good job throwing first-pitch strikes, but it just didn’t happen consistently.”
The Sox ultimately chose to hold onto Josh Winckowski, who’s shown the ability to go multiple innings.
“(Kelly) will back at one point,” Cora said, “although there are no promises, and he’s going to help us win games.”
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