Joe Kelly injury will test Red Sox starting pitching depth

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BOSTON — Let’s forgo, for the moment, a discussion of the foolishness of Joe Kelly to not tell a soul about the right shoulder soreness he had felt in the days leading up to his start Tuesday night and focus instead on another issue related to the Boston Red Sox’s pitching staff.

How much do you trust Henry Owens? Roenis Elias? Brian Johnson?

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is at least two weeks from being ready to return after a spring training knee injury landed him on the disabled list. He is about to be joined there by Kelly, who trudged off the mound in the first inning Tuesday night lacking the strength in his shoulder to unleash his blazing fastball and will be placed on the DL on Wednesday.

The Red Sox will have to dip into their pitching depth sooner than expected. And while they cross their fingers and toes that Kelly’s right shoulder impingement isn’t severe enough to keep him sidelined for more than a few starts, they’re about to find out whether they did enough in the offseason to insure the rotation against the injuries and attrition that always crop up.

Joe Kelly’s injury on Tuesday puts the Red Sox in the uneviable position of hoping that a Triple-A farmhand can blend into the rotation. Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports

In the immediate aftermath of a 10-inning, 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in which the Red Sox mustered one hit and didn’t have a baserunner after the third inning, manager John Farrell had not yet met with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to select a replacement for Kelly. But unless Dombrowski suddenly jumps into the bidding for unsigned veteran right-hander Kyle Lohse, it will come from a pool of candidates at Triple-A Pawtucket, none of whom …

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