Red Sox place Chris Martin on 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, transfer Wyatt Mills to 60-day injured list

Before taking on the Angels at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon, the Red Sox placed veteran reliever Chris Martin on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

To take Martin’s place on the big-league roster, Jake Faria had his contract selected from Triple-A Worcester. In order to make room for Faria on the 40-man roster, fellow right-hander Wyatt Mills was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.

Martin, who last pitched against the Rays this past Wednesday, underwent an MRI after reporting arm discomfort earlier in the week. The MRI revealed only inflammation as opposed to any structural damage. Because of that diagnosis, the Red Sox are optimistic that the 36-year-old’s stint on the injured list (which was backdated to April 13) will last the minimum 15 days.

“He’s a little bit banged up. It started with the bicep, now the shoulder,” manager Alex Cora said of Martin when speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo). “So we have to stay away from him. Actually, he’s getting checked by the doctor. There’s a good chance he’ll go on the IL. It’s nothing serious, serious. But it’s something we have to take into consideration. So we were talking about it and we’ll see what we do.”

Martin, for his part, told The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham: “It’s something I’ve had before early in the season. It’s just inflammation, nothing structural. We can knock it out.”

Boston signed Martin to a two-year, $17.5 million deal back in December to serve as a setup man in the back of the bullpen. The righty has allowed just two runs through his first seven appearances (seven innings) of the season, but he has struggled to miss bats and has a 5.08 FIP to show for it.

Faria signed a minor-league pact with the Red Sox back in February and broke camp with Worcester last month. In three relief appearances for the WooSox thus far, the 29-year-old has yielded six earned runs on four hits, six walks, and five strikeouts over five innings of work.

The Red Sox did not need Faria to defeat the Angels on Sunday, as Garrett Whitlock, Kaleb Ort, and Ryan Brasier combined for nine innings of one-run ball in the 2-1 win. Considering that the club will need to make a corresponding move in order to activate Brayan Bello from the injured list for his start on Monday, it seems likely that Faria could be designated for assignment since he is out of minor-league options and is a candidate to go through waivers unclaimed.

Mills, meanwhile, was acquired from the Royals in exchange for relief prospect Jacob Wallace back in December. The 28-year-old began his first season in Boston on the 15-day injured list after being shut down with elbow discomfort at the end of spring training. Though he has resumed throwing, Mills will not be eligible to be activated (and pitch in the majors) until late May at the earliest.

Following Sunday’s series of roster moves, the Red Sox now have four players on the 60-day injured list in Mills, Zack Kelly, Adalberto Mondesi, and Trevor Story.