The Red Sox shook up their bullpen Sunday morning, designating left-hander Joely Rodriguez for assignment while calling up right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa.
Rodriguez, who initially made the club as a non-roster invitee after an injury-plagued 2023, had struggled to start the season. He had allowed eight earned runs over 11 innings in 11 appearances, and most recently he allowed three runs in an inning of work on Friday against the Chicago Cubs.
Rodriguez was originally the only left-hander to make the Opening Day roster, but since then Boston has also called up Brennan Bernardino and Cam Booser. The club will now go forward with the two of them in the bullpen, along with Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert and Zack Kelly plus long-relief/starter options Josh Winckowski and Chase Anderson.
Uwasawa will join that latter group as well. Originally acquired in a minor league trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on March 27, the right-hander has made three starts for Worcester, going 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 15 innings. He most recently allowed one run in five innings with seven strikeouts and one walk in his last start, and he figures to be a candidate to start in the majors while the Red Sox await the return of Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello from the injured list.
Before making the jump to America, the 30-year-old pitched for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan, appearing in 173 games over nine seasons. He was a three-time NPB All-Star who posted a 3.19 ERA over his career, and last season he led the league in innings pitched (170) while posting a 2.96 ERA.