Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Shelved with oblique strain
Rotowire
The Red Sox placed Slaten on the 15-day injured list Wednesday due to a right oblique strain.
Boston had previously noted that Slaten wasn't available out of the bullpen for Tuesday's 3-2 win over Milwaukee due to a sore oblique, but the righty reliever will now be shut down for at least two weeks after being diagnosed with a strain. The Red Sox recalled lefty Tyler Samaniego from Triple-A Worcester to take Slaten's spot in the bullpen. For his part, Slaten believes his injury is minor and is hopeful to return from the IL when first eligible April 20, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Dealing with sore oblique
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Slaten was unavailable for Tuesday's game against the Brewers due to oblique soreness, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
The team has labeled Slaten as day-to-day, so his injury doesn't seem to be too severe. The 28-year-old is off to a strong start this season after striking out five batters over 3.1 shutout innings, picking up holds in two of his four appearances.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Works clean eighth inning
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Slaten struck out one over a perfect inning to earn a hold in Friday's 5-2 win over San Diego.
Slaten pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning to earn his second hold in three appearances this season, both of which set up saves for closer Aroldis Chapman. Coming off a 2025 season affected by a shoulder injury, a healthy Slaten will be a vital piece of the bullpen's setup crew in 2026.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Struggles continue
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Slaten allowed two runs on two hits and one walk over a third of an inning in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Athletics.
Slaten entered with Boston up a run and loaded the bases before getting the hook (10 pitches, four strikes). He was replaced by Steven Matz, who allowed a two of those inherited runners to score. Slaten was expected to be a bullpen asset when the Red Sox activated him from the injured list in late August, but the right-hander has been pummeled in six outings. Slaten has allowed seven runs on 12 hits and two walks over 5.1 innings.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Shaky first outing off IL
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Slaten allowed two hits and one walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Pirates.
This was Slaten's first appearance since he was activated off the injured list Thursday, and understandably, it was shaky. He allowed a leadoff single to Oneil Cruz, who was then erased on a double play, but Slaten then issued a two-out walk and allowed a single before wriggling out of the threat. Slaten's previous appearance in the majors was May 28.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Activation imminent
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday that Slaten (shoulder) probably won't require another rehab appearance before being activated from the 60-day injured list, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.
Slaten has made three rehab appearances with Triple-A Worcester, yielding just one unearned run with a 5:1 K:BB over three innings. The reliever has been shelved since late May due to right shoulder inflammation.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Sent out on rehab assignment
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Slaten (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Slaten had been scheduled to throw a live batting practice session Monday. However, he's feeling good enough that the Red Sox have opted to have him skip that session in order to send him out on a rehab assignment right away. Slaten has been shelved since early June with right shoulder inflammation, so he'll likely need multiple appearances in the minors before making his return to the Boston bullpen.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Throws off mound
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Slaten (shoulder) threw off a mound at Fenway Park on Tuesday, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.
Slaten looked to be throwing at full effort in his first time tossing from the bump since he landed on the injured list in early June due to right shoulder inflammation. The right-hander will surely require some rehab appearances before being activated from the 60-day injured list, and it's not clear when he might be ready for game action in the minors.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Restarts throwing program
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Manager Alex Cora said Saturday that Slaten (shoulder) has resumed playing catch, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
The Red Sox pulled Slaten off his throwing program last week in an effort to focus on building strength in his shoulder. Now that the team is satisfied with his strength, the right-handed reliever will begin building back up. He remains without an official return timeline, but he figures to still be multiple weeks away from activation.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: No longer throwing
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday that Slaten (shoulder) is no longer throwing and is instead doing plyometric exercises, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Out since late May with right shoulder inflammation, Slaten played catch back on June 27, but he's backed off a throwing program since then and is focusing on rebuilding shoulder strength. Once he's throwing again, Slaten will need time to build back up, so he looks to be several weeks away from a potential return.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Moved to 60-day IL
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The Red Sox transferred Slaten (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list Saturday.
The move to the 60-day IL means that Slaten will not return to the majors until late July. The move isn't all that surprising, considering the 27-year-old right-hander was recently cleared to start a throwing program as he works through right shoulder inflammation. In corresponding moves, Boston placed Luis Guerrero (elbow) on the 15-day IL and reinstated Chris Murphy (elbow) from the 60-day IL.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Starting up throwing program
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Slaten (shoulder) is scheduled to play catch Saturday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
It will be the right-hander's first time throwing since he landed on the injured list nearly a month ago due to shoulder inflammation. Slaten will require some time to build back up in his throwing program, so he shouldn't be expected to rejoin the Red Sox until after the All-Star break.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Not cleared to throw yet
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Slaten (shoulder) hasn't started playing catch yet, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reported Friday
Slaten has been shut down from throwing for nearly two weeks, having not played catch since hitting the injured list June 1 with right shoulder inflammation. It's unclear when he'll get the green light to throw, but he may not be ready to go until July.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Still not throwing
Rotowire
Slaten (shoulder) has yet to play catch since being placed on the injured list Sunday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Slaten was diagnosed with shoulder fatigue when he was placed on the injured list, so the issue didn't appear to be overly serious. However, he's likely to be sidelined until at least late June given his lack of progress.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Notches third save
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Slaten picked up the save in Monday's 4-2 win against the White Sox, pitching a clean inning with one strikeout.
Slaten efficiently secured the win, requiring only 12 pitches -- 10 of which were strikes -- to retire the side in order. Aroldis Chapman pitched the eighth inning, as he was called upon to face the top of the Chicago lineup. However, this outing shows that Slaten could be in line for more save opportunities as Boston manager Alex Cora may look to deploy Chapman in the highest leverage spots. Although Slaten owns a 4.00 ERA, his performance has been much better under the hood, pitching to a 1.59 FIP, 0.56 WHIP and 8:1 K:BB across nine innings.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Slams door for second save
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Slaten earned the save after throwing a clean ninth inning in Wednesday's win over the Rays. He struck out two.
Slaten faced little resistance, retiring the side on just 11 pitches (eight strikes) for his second save of the season. Aroldis Chapman remains the favorite for save opportunities out of the Boston bullpen, although the left-hander can cede the occasional chance based on certain matchups. The right-handed Slaten, who now holds a 5.14 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 5:1 K:BB through seven innings, was called upon to face three right-handed batters Wednesday.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Notches save in opener
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Slaten struck out one and didn't allow a baserunner in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against the Rangers.
Closer Aroldis Chapman entered for the eighth inning with the game tied 2-2, as the lefty-hitting Corey Seager was batting leadoff, opening up the ninth inning for Slaten after Boston took the lead. The right-hander recorded two saves and 13 holds with a 2.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 58:9 K:BB across 55.1 innings as a rookie last season, and he's one of the Red Sox's top relief arms again in 2025, even if Chapman is expected to be the primary closer early on.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Works scoreless inning
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Slaten allowed a hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning in Friday's spring game against Miami.
Slaten made his third Grapefruit League appearance and has yet to give up an earned run. The right-hander is the mix for save opportunities this season along with Aroldis Chapman and Liam Hendriks.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Returns to mound Monday
Rotowire
Slaten struck out one over a scoreless inning in the second game of Monday's doubleheader against Toronto.
Slaten, who was activated from the 15-day injured list earlier in the day, made his first appearance for the Red Sox since July 7. He came on in the fourth inning and worked around an infield error. The Red Sox have felt Slaten's loss, and they hope the right-hander can stabilize what has been a shaky bullpen in the second half.
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Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Throws bullpen Sunday
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Slaten threw a bullpen session prior to Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Slaten began a rehab assignment Friday for Double-A Portland, in which he exhibited shaky command, and Sunday's session was to address those issues. Boston manager Alex Cora told MLB.com that Slaten will most likely be with the Red Sox "in the upcoming days." That could mean at least one more rehab appearance for the right-hander.
