Red Sox to place Matt Barnes on COVID-19 injured list

The Red Sox are placing closer Matt Barnes on the COVID-19 injured list, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). He becomes the fourth Boston player to land on the IL for virus-related reasons in recent days, as each of Kiké Hernández, Christian Arroyo and Martín Pérez tested positive. It isn’t yet clear whether Barnes has also tested positive.

Barnes has had a productive season on the whole, tossing 49 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA/2.34 SIERA ball. He was absolutely lights-out early in the year, however, but has run into some uncharacteristic struggles in recent weeks. Dating back to the All-Star break, Barnes has been tagged for a 7.71 ERA over 16 appearances, allowing a .283/.383/.543 opponents’ slash line.

With Barnes out, Boston figures to lean more heavily on Adam Ottavino, Garrett Whitlock and Josh Taylor in high-leverage situations. With a little fewer than five weeks to play in the regular season, Boston currently holds a two-and-a-half game advantage over the A’s for the American League’s final playoff spot. The Red Sox are beginning a four-game series with the Rays Monday night, followed by sets against the Indians, Rays again and White Sox through Sept. 12.