Red Sox reinstate RHP Heath Hembree from 10-day injured list

BOSTON, MA – Prior to tonight’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox returned right-handed pitcher Heath Hembree from his injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket and reinstated him from the 10-day injured list. To make room for Hembree on the active roster, the club optioned right-handed pitcher Trevor Kelley to Pawtucket following last night’s game.

President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski made the announcement.

Hembree, 30, was placed on the injured list with a right elbow extensor strain on June 14, retroactive to June 11. His lone rehab appearance with the PawSox came against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, when he threw a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts. The right-hander has surrendered just 1 earned run in 17.1 innings (0.52 ERA) over his last 20 major league outings dating back to April 25, allowing zero runs in his last nine appearances and zero hits in his last five. In 235 major league relief appearances between San Francisco (2013) and Boston (2014-19), Hembree is 13-5 with a 3.35 ERA (91 ER/244.2 IP).

Kelley, 25, was selected from Pawtucket on Tuesday for his first-ever appearance on a major league roster. He made his lone appearance for Boston that night, allowing three runs in 1.0 inning of work. In his 28 appearances for the PawSox in 2019, the Rhode Island native has posted a 5-2 record with four saves, a 0.96 ERA (4 ER/37.2 IP), and 34 strikeouts, earning him an International League All-Star selection. In his last 19 minor league appearances since May 16, he has allowed only one earned run over 21.1 innings (0.42 ERA). Kelley was a 36th-round selection by Boston in the 2015 June Draft out of the University of North Carolina.