Chris Murphy, a left-handed pitcher for the Red Sox, has been stopped from playing and will have an MRI done on his elbow. Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters about this on Monday.
Murphy last pitched on Thursday against Philadelphia, but according to Cora he hasn’t recovered well and is feeling discomfort in his elbow.
“We are obviously concerned, but we will likely have more information tomorrow,” said Cora.
The 25-year-old had his first MLB game for Boston last year and became a strong left-handed pitcher in the bullpen. He started with a 1.59 ERA in his first nine games in June and July before getting tired and finishing the season with a 4.91 ERA in 47.2 innings.
This season, Murphy was considered for a place in the Red Sox bullpen, especially as a left-hander who can pitch for several innings. Now, with less than two weeks before the start of the season, there are doubts about Murphy's status.
Cora did have some good news about an injury in the bullpen. He said that right-handed pitcher Zack Kelly, who has a sore oblique, is getting better and might play in Friday’s game against Toronto. Whether he will need to start the year on the injured list, or make the Opening Day roster, will depend largely on Friday's developments.