Prior to yesterday’s game, the Red Sox placed left-hander Brennan Bernardino on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 10) due to a left lat strain. Southpaw Chris Murphy was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and Murphy tossed a scoreless inning in Friday’s 4-1 Sox loss to the Yankees.
Bernardino hasn’t pitched since September 6, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) that the injury only arose this past Wednesday in the final game of Boston’s series with the Athletics. “Playing catch the last day in Sacramento, [he] felt something grab him below the shoulder, so he had an MRI yesterday,” Cora said.
The severity of the strain wasn’t specified, and it isn’t known if Bernardino will be able to make it back before the end of the regular season. Given the backdated placement, the earliest the lefty could be activated is September 25, which would make him available for Boston’s final four games of the schedule.
The larger question, of course, is whether Bernardino’s status could be in question for a first-round playoff roster, should the Red Sox clinch at least a wild card berth. While Bernardino hasn’t pitched many high-leverage innings this year, the Sox naturally want as many healthy arms as possible when deciding their optimal October roster.
Bernardino has a strong 3.14 ERA over 51 2/3 frames for the Sox in 2025, but a 4.50 SIERA indicates some red flags behind that excellent bottom-line result. Between his .252 BABIP and his ability to induce soft contact, Bernardino’s ability to keep the ball on the ground (49.7% grounder rate) has again been his biggest strength. However, Bernardino’s 19.2% strikeout rate is well below average, and his 11.6% walk rate is only in the sixth percentile of all pitchers. The left-hander has battled control problems in the past, yet his strikeout rate has been steadily declining over his three full Major League seasons.