BOSTON -- For the Red Sox, a batch of roster moves made in the hours leading up to the home opener meant different emotions for all the individuals involved.
For Garrett Whitlock, who was placed on the paternity list, it was pure joy after witnessing the birth of his second child (and second boy) on Friday in Alabama.
For Johan Oviedo, placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain following a significant dip in velocity in his last outing, there is enough concern that manager Alex Cora hinted the big righty could fly to Dallas to have a consult with Dr. Keith Meister.
For Tyler Uberstine, Boston’s No. 15 prospect per MLB Pipeline, getting recalled from Triple-A Worcester for his first trip to the big leagues at the age of 26 is a “super, unbelievable experience.”
For reliever Zack Kelly, his recall from Worcester represents another chance to prove to the Red Sox he can pound the strike zone more consistently.
Though Cora didn’t give an exact day Whitlock will return to the club, it sounds as if the key righty setup man will take the full three days that MLB grants for a paternity leave with an eye on returning to Boston’s bullpen on Monday against Milwaukee.
“That's his decision, and I'm all for it,” said Cora. “[His wife has] been by herself the whole time, and there's another little one there, so take care of them, and then get here when he gets here.”
As for Oviedo, he was in the mix to be the fifth starter throughout Spring Training, but his candidacy dipped as he lost command the latter half of camp, and his velocity ticked down to the low 90s in a laborious bulk relief outing on Monday in Houston.
“He threw that game [in Houston],” said Cora. “The next day, he felt good. Just talking to [trainer] Brandon [Henry], I know the last day in Houston, he came in sore, went through all the testing, got some X-rays that were kind of inconclusive. [He] got the MRI, and it showed what it showed. Talking to Oviedo too, this kind of came out of nowhere. But if you start looking at the trends of velocity … he had that good one in Dunedin [on March 2], hit 98-99 [mph]. Then after that, he started trending down. So maybe that's the reason.”
Meister is the same surgeon who performed Oviedo’s Tommy John procedure in December 2023, so a visit with him would make sense.
For Uberstine, a 19th-round selection by the Red Sox out of Northwestern in the 2021 Draft, achieving his dream on such an eventful day at Fenway was something he couldn’t have imagined.
“For sure, it’s surreal,” Uberstine said. “You know, I think it will hit me at some point. But I think once you're on the mound, the fans and everything kind of goes away, and you're pitching.”
To witness his first days in the Majors, Uberstine’s parents took a red-eye flight on Thursday night from California and his brother flew in from Dallas.
Uberstine has mainly been used as a starter in the Majors, but he will be deployed as a reliever during this first stint with the Red Sox. In his Minor League career, Uberstine has a 3.54 ERA (90 earned runs in 228 2/3 innings) in 55 career games (41 starts).