Boston Red Sox Make Series Of Roster Moves Before Texas Rangers Home Series

Coming off of a devastating series sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros at home, the Boston Red Sox made a handful of moves to sure up the edges of their roster going into a three-game set against the Texas Rangers.

Before his upcoming start tonight, starting Pitcher Brayan Bello was reinstated from the Paternity Leave List after a three-day stint. The 25-year-old will look to stop the team's four-game losing streak and bounce back after a blowup 5th inning that cut his last outing short.

After being caught on camera using a homophobic slur directed toward a heckling fan during Sunday's game, outfielder Jarren Duran was handed a two-day unpaid suspension for his actions. Duran has since apologized for his actions but will be unable to help the team out of their skid for a pair of contests.

A first-inning calf strain prematurely removed starter James Paxton from his Sunday start and was placed on the 15-day Injured List as the team waits for the results of his MRI.

The struggles of left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino and continued subpar performances from long reliever Brad Keller resulted in both players being demoted to Triple-A Worcester. Bernardino's ERA has inflated from sub-1.00 to almost 4.00 after an abysmal past month and a half, and across 37.1 innings Keller threw to a 5.30 ERA.

Their spots will be taken by newly called-up left-handed long reliever Bailey Horn, who's pitched to a 6.39 ERA in MLB this year, and 27-year-old right-handed reliever Chase Shugart. Shugart's first outing will be his MLB debut and in 59.2 innings in Worcester he has posted a 4.98 ERA.

About a week after being demoted to AAA, infielder Jamie Westbrook has been Designated for Assignment. Worcester C/INF Mickey Gasper has been called up to the big league club, whose season-long average has climbed above .340 and OPS above 1.000.