Red Sox DFA struggling reliever and call up an even more questionable one

Jorge Alcala's August 4 performance against the Kansas City Royals was the final straw for the Boston Red Sox reliever who had been in the hot seat.

Alcala came into the game in the eighth inning with a score of 7-1 in the Boston Red Sox's favor. He immediately let up a solo home run to Vinnie Pasquantino, then another to Maikel Garcia before he collected an out. Mike Yastrzemski got to him for a double (he ended up on third due to a Jarren Duran misplay), and Alex Cora couldn't wait any longer. He pulled Alcala to use Justin Wilson, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman in a game Boston could've won by a landslide.

The next day, the Red Sox designated Alcala for assignment, first reported by Chris Cotillo of MassLive. They summoned WooSox reliever Isaiah Campbell to take his place in the bullpen.

Boston acquired Alcala from the Minnesota Twins in mid-June in exchange for prospect Andy Lugo. The righty had pitched to an 8.88 ERA through 24.1 innings in Minnesota, and the trade immediately raised eyebrows in Red Sox Nation. The Sox clearly saw something in his blistering fastball, and briefly made good use of it.

Red Sox designate Jorge Alcala for assignment, call up Isaiah Campbell

Alcala posted a 1.69 ERA over 11 appearances out of Boston's bullpen in July, and it seemed the Red Sox had successfully turned him around. But his August 4 blowup was his fifth rough outing in a row — that stretch includes a blown save against his former team — and the Red Sox had to pull the trigger.

The Red Sox's replacement for Alcala hasn't fared much better out of the WooSox bullpen than he has recently. Campbell has logged a 4.17 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 15 walks in 45.1 innings with Triple-A Worcester this season. He let up eight runs in eight innings across six appearances in July. Campbell, in early July, appeared briefly in the majors and allowed two runs in two innings before he was swiftly returned to Triple-A.

The Red Sox could've used another relief arm at the deadline before letting Alcala go. It had to be done, though, because Boston can't afford mistakes like the ones Alcala made cutting into Chapman and Whitlock's workload down the stretch.