The Boston Red Sox are going to be without one of their key relief pitchers for at least a 15-Day IL stint. However, there’s concern that Justin Slaten could be down for even longer than that.
Slaten was placed on the IL over the weekend, retroactive to Wednesday. This comes as he deals with right-elbow inflammation. It was also a move that seemed like a surprise from the outside looking in.
“It’s a little bit of forearm/elbow discomfort,” Slaten said. “It’s something that I’ve been dealing with a few times this year that I’ve just been pitching through. And then this time, going back to [last weekend at home] is kind of when it popped up that last day, and then into Toronto.”
Unfortunately, this is an issue that’s been following Slaten throughout the season. The Red Sox were just able to manage it. Now, it became an issue big enough that it had to be addressed before the end of the season.
“We were doing a really good job of managing it earlier in the year, just pitching through it, knowing when to give it a rest, and then let it go,” Slaten said. “And then this time it just got a little too much to the point where it was like I was pitching and, just for two or three days afterwards, just not recovering well at all. So we just made the decision that it’s better for me, for the team, for the guys in the bullpen to just go ahead and get this cleaned up, get it fixed and then be ready to go down the stretch.”
Slaten has been having a down year by his standards. In 36 games, he’s thrown 31.1 innings to a 4.60 ERA and a 1.372 WHIP. Both of those are higher than his career averages (3.73 ERA and 1.127 WHIP, respectively).
Injuries Have Been an Issue for Boston Red Sox RP Justin Slaten in the Past
GettyBoston Red Sox pitcher Justin Slaten
The Red Sox have seen Justin Slaten flash in the past. At his best, he has the talent to be a back-end of the bullpen arm, potentially even a future closer. Slaten just hasn’t been able to stay healthy enough to either develop into that pitcher fully or be trusted to have those key roles.
This is Slaten’s second IL stint of the season. He previously missed 28 games with an oblique strain. So, even within the 2026 season, the Red Sox have now missed him for two different stints.
In 2025, the Red Sox were without Slaten for 74 games as he dealt with shoulder inflammation. That was a year after he missed 36 games with elbow inflammation. Incidentally, that’s the same injury that he’s battling now.
That amounts to significant time where Slaten wasn’t available in his first three MLB seasons with the Red Sox. For a pitcher the Red Sox do need down the stretch, that’s becoming a larger and larger concern.
The Red Sox Bullpen is Having Its Depth Tested
GettyBoston Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy
The Justin Slaten news came just days after the Red Sox were forced to put 8th inning specialist Garrett Whitlock on the IL. All of a sudden, the Red Sox and their top-tier bullpen are getting their depth tested.
“We have people that will step up,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “[Greg Weissert] has thrown very meaningful innings for the last couple years for this team. Tyron [Guerrero]’s down there. You saw what Miller’s done since he’s been here and the inning he threw last night. [Closer Aroldis Chapman] is still there. But they’re good back-end arms. We want to get them back.”
The injuries do make the Trade Deadline look like more of a success for the Red Sox. They added lefty Erik Miller, who is a power pitcher and should offer another trustworthy arm in the meantime.
Still, the bullpen is what the Red Sox hung their hat on during their turnaround. They’ll need it healthy to win in October.
Red Sox Pitcher Justin Slaten Shared a Grim Injury Update After Landing on IL