The Boston Red Sox continue to round out their roster for Opening Day. Earlier today, I wrote about the position players they would be taking to Cincinnati. This evening, they have started to set their bullpen with a bit of a surprising move. The Red Sox announced that right-handed pitchers Zack Kelly and Tyler Uberstine, along with left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle, were optioned to minor league camp. Tolle is the Red Sox’s top prospect and the 19th overall prospect in all of baseball. Boston also reassigned newly signed right-handed pitcher Tommy Kahnle to minor league camp.
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Zack Kelly
Kelly, this spring has made seven appearances, going 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA, a 1.80 WHIP, and four strikeouts in 6.2 innings. He made 28 appearances for the Red Sox last season, going 1-3 with a 4.58 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and 35 strikeouts in 35.1 innings.
Tyler Uberstine
Uberstine, in four appearances this spring, went 0-2 with a 6.14 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP, and 11 strikeouts in 7.1 innings. Last season, he made 25 appearances with 21 of those coming starts between Double-A and Triple-A, going 6-5 with a 3.58 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and 137 strikeouts in 120.2 innings.
Payton Tolle
Tolle, this spring, made four appearances with one coming as a start, posting a 2.53 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. He made seven appearances with three coming as starts for Boston last season, going 0-1 with a 6.06 ERA, a 1.59 WHIP, and 19 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. Tolle pitched across three levels in the Red Sox system, making 20 appearances with 18 coming as starts, going 3-5. He posted a 3.04 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and 133 strikeouts in 91.2 innings.
Tommy Kahnle
Kahnle signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox last week. He appeared in one game and didn’t allow a base runner, and struck out one. In 66 games for the Tigers last season, he went 1-5 with a 4.43 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and 50 strikeouts in 63 innings.
