Zack

Kelly

Kelly’s option to Triple-A Worcester was rescinded, and instead he’ll be placed on the shelf for the next couple of weeks. He could be back in the Boston bullpen shortly after the All-Star break.

Kelly left Sunday’s relief appearance against Toronto with right oblique tightness, but checked out fine after some precautionary imaging. The 30-year-old righty heads to the minors with Jordan Hicks coming off the injured list to join Boston’s relief mix.

Kelly has been up-and-down several times already this season as extra middle relief depth for Boston, posting a bloated 8.25 ERA across 12 innings (eight appearances) in the big leagues. He’s merely organizational relief depth at this stage of his career.

Kelly returns to the minors to make room for Richard Fitts on Boston’s active roster ahead of Tuesday’s showdown against the Brewers.

Kelly gives Boston a fresh arm in the wake of Saturday’s doubleheader at Fenway Park. The 30-year-old righty holds an inflated 9.00 ERA across 10 innings (seven appearances) this season at the big-league level.

Kelly had a 9.00 ERA in 10 innings of relief work, even though he has a fine 11/2 K/BB and had allowed just one homer. He’ll be back.

Kelly was used in the Red Sox’ 5-4 loss to the Yankees on Friday and the team is swapping him out for a fresh arm. He has a 3.97 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 61 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings for Boston this year.

Kelly drew the starting assignment for the nightcap of Monday’s unconventional doubleheader marathon at Fenway Park by virtue of a suspended game resumption and reeled off three hitless frames, allowing just a pair of walks in the process. The 29-year-old righty has been excellent this season for the Red Sox, registering a sparkling 2.58 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 56/22 K/BB ratio across 52 1/3 innings (42 appearances, three starts). There isn’t a ton of appeal here for fantasy managers in shallow mixers given his current swingman role, but he’ll probably make an impact in deeper mixed leagues and AL-only formats going forward.

Kelly hasn’t thrown more than inning since July 22, so this will be a short one. It’s unclear if the Red Sox will turn to Cooper Criswell afterwards or not. Criswell, who started last Wednesday, was originally announced as Tuesday’s starter, but that was changed to TBA yesterday.

With Boston’s top three relievers all absent, Kelly got the ball in a tie game in the ninth tonight. He pitched a scoreless inning then, but he failed to protect the lead after the Red Sox scored twice in the 10th. Hilliard’s homer made him the only one of seven batters to reach against Kelly, who has a nice 2.09 ERA in 38 2/3 innings this season. He could be a candidate for saves in the final two months if the Red Sox reverse course and opt to sell at the deadline.