Boston Red Sox closer Koji Uehara is out for the season with a broken right wrist.
The Red Sox placed him on the disabled list Monday with a non-displaced distal radius fracture. He is expected to be ready for spring training.
Uehara took a line drive off the wrist while recording his 25th save and sealing Boston’s 7-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
He took a few steps to his right, picked up the ball and threw out second baseman Ian Kinsler to end the game. Then he crumpled to the ground in pain.
X-rays after the game did not show a break, but further examination in Boston did.
Uehara, 40, had a 2.23 ERA in 40 1/3 innings this season. He has a 1.86 ERA and 72 saves in three seasons with the Red Sox.
Uehara signed to a two-year, $18 million deal last October.
Wright seeking another strong outing
The Miami Marlins host the Red Sox in a two-game interleague series beginning Tuesday night involving a pair of last-place teams.
Boston swept Miami in a two-game set at Fenway Park on July 7-8 to move within five games of first-place New York in the American League East, but followed by dropping two of three to the Yankees prior to the All-Star Game and lost seven straight coming out of the break to fall out of contention.
Miami was 15 games under .500 when it lost slugger Giancarlo Stanton to a broken hand June 26, but has gone 14-23 since and just learned it will be without star right-hander Jose Fernandez for a period of time because of a right biceps strain.
The Marlins are expected to place Fernandez — 15-0 with a 1.14 ERA in 24 career home starts, 3-0, 1.44 in four turns this season — on the 15-day disabled list prior to Tuesday’s game and recall left-hander Justin Nicolino from Triple-A New Orleans to make his third major-league start.
Nicolino opposes knuckleballer Steven Wright, who won his last two starts in impressive fashion. Boston outfielder Mookie Betts is expected to rejoin the lineup after missing 11 games because of a concussion.
Wright (5-4, 4.12 ERA) allowed one run and struck out a career-high nine in eight innings of a 2-1 victory at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, which likely solidified his spot in the rotation. “I’ll do whatever they want me to do,” the 30-year-old Californian told reporters after recording a career high in strikeouts for the second straight game. “Just give me a chance to pitch. That’s all I want.”
Wright gave up two runs while striking out eight in seven frames of an 8-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on July 30.
Nicolino (1-1, 4.09) was roughed up in his last appearance, a 7-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 26 when he yielded five runs in four innings. The 23-year-old Florida native permitted four hits in seven frames of a 5-0 victory in Cincinnati on June 20 in his major-league debut.
Nicolino, a second-round pick by Toronto in 2010 before he was involved in the blockbuster 12-player deal in 2012 involving Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle, was 7-7 with a 3.52 ERA in 20 starts with New Orleans.
Ramirez recovering
Boston left fielder Hanley Ramirez sat out his second consecutive game Sunday due to a swollen left foot.
“I expect him to be in lineup Tuesday in Miami,” manager John Farrell said. Ramirez was a late pregame scratch Saturday night. He can’t put pressure on the foot when he swings.
Masterson off roster
Right-hander Justin Masterson gave up a solo home run in his lone inning Sunday, and he was designated for assignment after the game. The Red Sox needed a roster spot with the impending return of Betts.
“We have other roster moves to make in the next 48 hours,” Farrell said.
The reason for trimming Masterson was inconsistency; too many stretches of hits and walks and not enough stringing together of outs. In 18 games (nine starts) this year, Masterson is 4-2 with a 5.61 ERA.