Red Sox Send Workman To Pawtucket To Make Room For Breslow
BOSTON (CBS) -- Brandon Workman was a bright spot in the Red Sox 10-7 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, giving Boston four solid innings out of the bullpen.
His reward after the game? News that he was being sent down to Pawtucket.
Workman, who earned a spot on the opening day roster, will head down to Triple-A to make room for reliever Craig Breslow, who is set to come off the disabled list on Wednesday.
"Breslow is coming back and Breslow obviously deserves a spot here, so that's the way it goes," Workman told reporters Tuesday night.
The 25-year-old righty was solid for Boston after both Felix Doubront and Burke Badenhop were roughed up by Texas on Tuesday, hurling four innings of one-run ball, allowing two hits and striking out three. It was his third appearance out of the bullpen this season, and was the first run he's allowed over 6.1 innings pitched.
The plan now is for Workman to stretch his stints on the mound and join the Pawtucket starting rotation. He split time last season between Double-A Portland, Pawtucket and Boston, serving both as a reliever and a starter. He made three starts for the Red Sox, appearing in 20 games overall for Boston in 2013, going 6-3 with a 4.97 ERA. He pitched in seven games in the postseason, allowing no earned runs over 8.2 innings or work.
Workman would have liked to have remain in the majors, but understands it comes down to a numbers game on the roster.
"Obviously, it's not ideal but I understand what they're doing and that's part of it," he said. "I just have to keep working. There's not much else to do, so that's what I'm going to do."
"He's going to be back," said Boston catcher A.J. Pierzynski said of Workman following Tuesday's loss. "He's got all the pitches to be a big league pitcher for a long time. He's big and strong. He's got velocity. He's got breaking balls. He's got a changeup he can throw. So you just tell him to go down there and be ready for the next time he comes up because something always happens, you never go through a season with only 25 guys. If something happens, he'll be back here rather quickly."
Breslow, a key component to the Boston bullpen last season, started the season on the DL with a shoulder strain. He made three rehab appearances in Pawtucket, allowing a hit, two walks and striking out one over 2.2 innings of work.
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