DETROIT — The Red Sox shuffled their bullpen yet again on Monday, placing lefthander Danny Coulombe on the injured list retroactive to Saturday and calling up 29-year-old rookie lefthander Alec Gamboa.
Coulombe was said to have cervical spasms, and isn’t sure what happened.
“Old age?” the 36-year-old said. “I think when you sleep on a lot of different pillows, sometimes you just tweak things. I don’t have anything else.”
That the Sox needed their bullpen for 11 innings on Saturday and Sunday was part of the equation. Gamboa has made three starts at Triple-A Worcester, the last on Thursday, and can provide multiple innings in relief if needed.
Gamboa was signed as a minor league free agent in December. He started the 2025 season in Triple-A with the Dodgers, then was granted his release after eight games to sign with the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization.
He was 7-8 with a 3.58 ERA in 19 starts. Gamboa allowed nine earned runs over 13 innings with the WooSox.
Gamboa, who was drafted by the Dodgers in 2019, was thrilled to finally get to the major leagues. He had three members of his family at Comerica Park come in from California for the game and expects more to arrive on Tuesday.
“Excited to be here,” Gamboa said.
Lefthander Patrick Sandoval was moved to the 60-day injured list to make room for Gamboa on the 40-man roster. Sandoval opened the season on the 15-day IL recovering from elbow surgery done in 2024. He appeared in two minor league games before being shut down again.
Henry responds to chant
Sox principal owner John Henry, who also owns the Globe, was given a lifetime achievement award by Sports Business Journal.
In a flattering story published on Monday, Henry was asked about the frequent chants of “Sell the team” at Fenway Park this season.
“Fans get frustrated,” Henry said by email. “The Sox looked terrible for [the] first 25 games. I remember a plane flying overhead when [Liverpool] were beating Manchester United, 7-0, that read ‘FSG OUT!’ ”
“It doesn’t mean you ignore them, it means you work harder — you don’t settle for mediocrity. You have to win.”
Henry has not taken questions in person from Boston reporters since 2020.
Sonny day?
Sonny Gray, who threw in the bullpen on Sunday, remains lined up to pitch in the series finale on Wednesday. That’s the first day he’s eligible to come off the injured list. Gray seems fully recovered from a right hamstring strain . . . Justin Slaten, out since April 8 with an oblique strain, is set to pitch in another minor league game this week. That would be with Worcester . . . Ranger Suarez remains on the roster after leaving his start on Sunday with a tight right hamstring. He may avoid the IL. “Everything was OK [Monday],” interim manager Chad Tracy said before the Red Sox’ 5-4 win. “Nothing more to add to it. We’ll see how he continues to react.” . . . Garrett Crochet traveled with the team, a sign that he’s progressing well from the inflammation in his left shoulder that has him on the injured list. He could return as soon as May 12 against the Phillies . . . The Tigers and Major League Baseball moved up the start of the game 30 minutes to 6:10 p.m. because of heavy rain in the forecast. It was sunny and 71 at first pitch.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.