Red Sox Call Up Tyler Samaniego As Justin Slaten Heads To IL

[Alex Mayes]

The Boston Red Sox have placed reliever Justin Slaten on the 15-day injured list with a right oblique strain. To replace him in the bullpen, the team has called up LHP Tyler Samaniego before the series finale with the Brewers.

 

Alex Cora revealed in his media availability after the 3-2 win on Tuesday that Slaten was dealing with soreness on his right side but hesitated to call it an oblique injury at the time. Now, we have conformation that Slaten will be missing time while he heals up. While Slaten has been useful out of the pen, his injury history isn't exactly brief, so it's disheartening to see him go down again so early in the year.

Samaniego has appeared in three games for the WooSox, posting a 3.38 ERA with three strikeouts and a 1.31 WHIP over 5 1/3 innings. He was impressive in spring training after he fully recovered from some initial back issues. His fastball tops out at 97 mph but he lacks a solid secondary pitch at the moment. With some development, he could be an incredibly useful arm out of the bullpen down the stretch. Expect to see him serve as an up-and-down reliever for the entirety of the season.

Justin Slaten landing on the IL again is not great news for a team already pushing their bullpen to the maximum this early in the season, but Samaniego has the opportunity to show that his strong spring was more than just a fluke once he arrives in Boston.

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[moonslav59]

I hope this isn't a never-ending issue with Slaten- staying healthy.

He's our solid #3, when healthy.

[Alex Mayes]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I hope this isn't a never-ending issue with Slaten- staying healthy.

He's our solid #3, when healthy.

That's my concern too. I really like Slaten and think he could be in the mix for the closer role once Chapman is gone, but the injuries piling up is concerning. 

[JoeBrady]

Good outing by Sammy.  Cora made a tough decision to keep him in when he was struggling with his command.

[moonslav59]

22 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Good outing by Sammy.  Cora made a tough decision to keep him in when he was struggling with his command.

Imagine he imploded. Fire CORA would be screamed by many.

[Hitch]

19 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I hope this isn't a never-ending issue with Slaten- staying healthy.

He's our solid #3, when healthy.

I think it is. He's got a sustained run of missing injuries through smaller issues. I think this is who he is. I'd happily trade him at some point as long as we fill the hole. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Hitch said:

I think it is. He's got a sustained run of missing injuries through smaller issues. I think this is who he is. I'd happily trade him at some point as long as we fill the hole. 

Someone was just telling me about patience.

[Hitch]

16 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Someone was just telling me about patience.

Questioning a pitcher with two starts and a disjointed ST. 

Worrying about a player with a concerning injury record.

 

Yeah... they're the same. 🙄

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Hitch said:

Questioning a pitcher with two starts and a disjointed ST. 

Worrying about a player with a concerning injury record.

 

Yeah... they're the same. 🙄

They are not the same, but patience may be needed for Slaten, too.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

They are not the same, but patience may be needed for Slaten, too.

Maybe? Hard to be patient if the track record is "gets injured every year." 

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Maybe? Hard to be patient if the track record is "gets injured every year." 

Yet, when we suggested trading Sale, this same thing was supposed to be overlooked.

It is very concerning that he has now missed time in all 3 seasons with the Sox.

I'm not sure about his minor league injury history, but I do know he was a starter until 2021-2022.

[mvp 78]

29 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Yet, when we suggested trading Sale, this same thing was supposed to be overlooked.

It is very concerning that he has now missed time in all 3 seasons with the Sox.

I'm not sure about his minor league injury history, but I do know he was a starter until 2021-2022.

Sale is going to continue to get injured going forward. It's why he may not be a HOF guy. 

[JoeBrady]

12 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Imagine he imploded. Fire CORA would be screamed by many.

We would have entire websites dedicated towards it.

[moonslav59]

I'm not sure how many of Slaten's injuries have been major, but when all is said and done, if he's out significant time every year, like he has been, it hurts the team.

I get that.

He missed about 8 weeks in 2024 and came back with a decent ending, but not as good as pre-injury.

2.44 FIP pre/ 3.17 post

He missed about half of 2025. (3.18 pre/ 4.49 post)

All together, he's missed about half the time. That sucks.

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

We would have entire websites dedicated towards it.

A thread is not good enough, I guess.

[notin]

3 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

We would have entire websites dedicated towards it.

I just purchased firecorahirenotin.com

Surprisingly, it was still available…

[mvp 78]

14 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

We would have entire websites dedicated towards it.

@Slasher9 you alive, bro? 

[notin]

31 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm not sure how many of Slaten's injuries have been major, but when all is said and done, if he's out significant time every year, like he has been, it hurts the team.

I get that.

He missed about 8 weeks in 2024 and came back with a decent ending, but not as good as pre-injury.

2.44 FIP pre/ 3.17 post

He missed about half of 2025. (3.18 pre/ 4.49 post)

All together, he's missed about half the time. That sucks.

At some point, he does become a reason to not COMPLETELY IGNORE the bullpen all winter.

It’s almost as if the Sox learn a bit too much from their past successes.  “Whitlock was a major Rule 5 success, and Slaten was effective when available. So the only thing we need to do for the bullpen for the upcoming season is some Rule 5 homework.  Much cheaper than those pricey veterans with actual pitching talent.”

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, notin said:

At some point, he does become a reason to not COMPLETELY IGNORE the bullpen all winter.

It’s almost as if the Sox learn a bit too much from their past successes.  “Whitlock was a major Rule 5 success, and Slaten was effective when available. So the only thing we need to do for the bullpen for the upcoming season is some Rule 5 homework.  Much cheaper than those pricey veterans with actual pitching talent.”

Ah, but they added Watson (Rule 5), Coloumbe (1M due to injury) and Kahnle (MiLB deal)! The big acquisition is going to be Tayron Freakin Guerrero. 

[moonslav59]

42 minutes ago, notin said:

At some point, he does become a reason to not COMPLETELY IGNORE the bullpen all winter.

It’s almost as if the Sox learn a bit too much from their past successes.  “Whitlock was a major Rule 5 success, and Slaten was effective when available. So the only thing we need to do for the bullpen for the upcoming season is some Rule 5 homework.  Much cheaper than those pricey veterans with actual pitching talent.”

I think it worked, last year, so they rinsed and repeated.

Like last year, they hoped some SP'ers would be used from the pen, but that hardly happened, at all, due to so many injuries, and then we traded Newcomb, who went o to be a very good pen guy- not to mention the Priester deal.

2025 RP innings buy pitchers who were viewed as mostly starters:

19 Newcomb

11 Criswell

8 Dobbins

6 Tolle

5 Bello

4 Fitts

3 Harrison, May

2 Buehler

[notin]

49 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Ah, but they added Watson (Rule 5), Coloumbe (1M due to injury) and Kahnle (MiLB deal)! The big acquisition is going to be Tayron Freakin Guerrero. 

Coulombe and Kahnle were added at the 11:59pm point of the off-season.  Tayron Guerrero is not real…

[Behindenemylines]

Can't have a better major league start then Samaniego had. Striking out the side!

[moonslav59]

How about Jack Anderson in the pen?

(He'd have to be added to the 40, first.)

[mvp 78]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

How about Jack Anderson in the pen?

(He'd have to be added to the 40, first.)

WOO's 6th starter? Pass for now. 

[moonslav59]

57 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

WOO's 6th starter? Pass for now. 

He's a long shot, for sure, but he did well w POR, last year:

90 Ks and 18 BBs in 75.1 IP.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

He's a long shot, for sure, but he did well w POR, last year:

90 Ks and 18 BBs in 75.1 IP.

I think the worry is he has a high hard hit % and it's pulled (53.5%). Probably need to see him do it in the warmer weather when the bats heat up before we can believe in his arm.