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- Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — The Red Sox made four roster moves Tuesday.
They designated righty Robert Stock for assignment after he spent one day on the roster and recalled right-hander Josh Winckowski from Triple-A Worcester.
Boston also officially placed catcher Connor Wong on the 10-day injured list with a left fifth finger fracture and recalled Blake Sabol to take his spot.
Cora said Wong’s fracture is “a very small one” and it will be reevaluated on a weekly basis. Cora added that Carlos Narváez “will play a lot” behind the plate with Sabol as the backup.
Sabol, who Boston acquired from the Giants in January, began the season 5-for-20 with two doubles, five walks and five strikeouts in six games for the WooSox.
The 26-year-old Winckowski has allowed four runs (three earned runs), 12 hits (one homer) and one walk while striking out nine in 6 innings (two relief appearances) for Worcester this season.
He also struggled quite a bit in spring training, giving up 12 runs, 15 hits (two homers) and six walks while striking out four in seven innings.
Cora said Winckowski will be used as a bulk reliever.
“Multiple innings,” Cora said. “This week with the doubleheader, kind of like the revolving door.”
Winckowski has been working on a new “downer slider” while also throwing his four-seam fastball more often. He also has said he’s looking to throw his cutter in better locations.
“Wink is a good pitcher,” Cora said. “He helped us out a lot the last few years. He struggled spring training. I think as far as like his repertoire, it’s been a mix of east/west. Now we want to go north/south. The slider, kind of get it down there. The four-seamer, we added. We’ll see how it goes.”
Winckowski pitched the third most innings (83 ⅓ innings) among major league relievers in 2023.
But the 2024 season didn’t go as well. His ERA jumped from 2.88 ERA to 4.14. He got optioned to Worcester twice last season.
“One thing I’m gonna tell him, we gotta compete,” Cora added. “Like at the end of the day, it real doesn’t matter — just throw that stuff over the plate and get people out. And he’s done it before. I just don’t want him to get caught up on the whole thing. ‘I just got called up. What I’m gonna do?’ Just whenever they call your name, go out there and compete. And he’s done it before."
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