Ex-Yankees Star Makes Perfect Sense For Red Sox After Latest Unfortunate Injury News

The Boston Red Sox got some unfortunate news Wednesday. 

Boston relief pitcher Zack Kelly took the mound for the club in Wednesday's loss against the Tampa Bay Rays but was forced to leave the game early after suffering what appeared to be an injury in his throwing elbow. Kelly made his big league debut with the Red Sox in 2022 and has developed into one of the club's most dependable relievers early in the season but may miss time now. 

With Kelly potentially looking at time on the injured list and Boston already without the services of Joely Rodriguez and Wyatt Mills, the Red Sox's bullpen depth is being tested early. If the Red Sox were looking to add an external candidate into the mix to add more depth, the biggest name left on the market is former New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles star Zack Britton. 

Britton has spent his entire 12-year career in the American League East between the Orioles and Yankees and when he has been healthy has been one of the most dominant left-handed relievers in baseball. The 35-year-old hasn't been healthy over the last two seasons and appeared in just 25 games, but has been putting on showcases for interested clubs since spring training and seemingly is healthy and ready to go. 

If the Red Sox opted to stay internal, one of the easiest options for the short term would be to bring Kutter Crawford back to the big leagues. The only issue with this is the fact that at the Triple-A level, he could continue being stretched out as a starter and provide solid rotation depth, but if he's fully moved to the bullpen that may be more difficult. An external option like Britton wouldn't cost the team much and could give the team another full-time relief pitcher. 

Britton may not be what he once was, but at the very least he is a left-handed pitcher and the Red Sox don't have many. Boston has just one healthy lefty in the bullpen in Richard Bleier and only one healthy starter in Chris Sale. Adding another lefty makes perfect sense and could help another dimension to the bullpen that Boston doesn't currently have. 

Hopefully, Kelly is alright and can return to the field in the near future but if he isn't able to, a move makes sense sooner rather than later.