On Monday the Red Sox placed lefthanded reliever Richard Bleier on the injured list and recalled Brennan Bernardino from Worcester.
Bleier, who is suffering from shoulder inflammation, becomes the fifth Boston pitcher on the IL, joining Zack Kelly, John Schreiber, Wyatt Mills, and Garrett Whitlock.
Whitlock is the only member of that group expected back soon, as Alex Cora said he should be good to start Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks.
The others have either just joined the IL (Schreiber) or are on the 60-day list with longer recovery timelines (Kelly and Mills).
The 36-year-old Bleier left Sunday’s game against the Padres after pitching 1 1/3 innings and recording the first two outs of the fourth inning.