BOSTON -- Just as the Red Sox improved their pitching depth by acquiring righty starter Andrew Cashner, the team had to place knuckleballer Steven Wright on the 10-day injured list with a right big toe contusion prior to Sunday’s game against the Dodgers.

Wright suffered the injury when he was belted by a one-hopper from Max Muncy in Saturday’s game, just after he had surrendered back-to-back homers to Cody Bellinger and A.J. Pollock.

Cashner -- who was acquired from Baltimore on Saturday -- arrived a couple of hours before first pitch on Sunday, and replaced Wright on the 25-man roster. Cashner will make his Boston debut on Tuesday night at Fenway Park against the Blue Jays.

The Red Sox had just gotten Wright back from an 80-game suspension on June 25, and the hope was that he could strengthen a bullpen that has been inconsistent. The 34-year-old pitched in six games after his activation. Now, the hope is that Wright will only miss the 10 days.

“Steven is sore,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He’s not moving well.”

Fortunately, the Red Sox should get Nathan Eovaldi back from the injured list within the next week or so, and he will move to the bullpen and could slide into the closer’s role.

Eovaldi is expected to throw some live batting practice on Monday, which could be his final step before a short Minor League rehab assignment. Cora joked that it could be hard to find Red Sox players or coaches who want to dig in against Eovaldi.

“Not too many guys are running to the bat rack to hit against him,” Cora said.

As for the much-discussed bullpen, Cora isn’t sweating out whether president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski makes a move before the July 31 Trade Deadline. Dombrowski said Saturday he could stand pat, and that Cashner might be the only significant acquisition.

“We should be fine,” Cora said. “Everything starts with the rotation. We know that. We feel like these guys are going to go deep into the game, and with Nate in the mix and the way [Josh Taylor] is throwing the ball, and with Heater [Heath Hembree] building back up, we have enough arms to finish the job.”

Worth noting
• First baseman Mitch Moreland was expected to play three days in a row for Triple-A Pawtucket this weekend. Instead, he didn’t play at all due to recurring tightness in his right quad. The hope is that Moreland can resume action in the Minors on Monday.

• With Moreland and Steve Pearce both on the IL, Cora said it’s possible Christian Vazquez will play first base more. Vazquez made his first MLB start there on Saturday. The one mishap was a throwing error in which Rafael Devers was late getting to third base due to the shift.

“We don't play too much football back home [in Puerto Rico], so he didn't lead the wide receiver on that play,” quipped Cora. “Overall, he was in tune with everything. He's a good athlete. He enjoys it. Before the game I was like, ‘If I didn't know you, I would tell you do not panic. But I know you're not panicking, actually you're enjoying this.’ It just didn't happen offensively yesterday.”