Red Sox DFA struggling reliever after brutal stretch, call up fresh arm from WooSox

BOSTON — Reliever Jorge Alcala had his fourth straight blow-up outing Monday night against the Royals — and it was his last in a Red Sox uniform.

Boston designated Alcala for assignment Tuesday and called up fellow right-hander Isaiah Campbell to replace him on the active roster, according to a team announcement. The Sox will now have seven days to waive or release Alcala.

The hard-throwing Alcala, acquired in a June 11 trade that sent minor leaguer Andy Lugo to the Twins, put together a strong run of initial outings after the deal, allowing just two earned runs while striking out 15 batters in 14 ⅓ innings from June 17 to July 25. He then hit the wall hard in the last week. Alcala walked two to blow a save in Minnesota in last Monday’s loss before, on three straight occasions, failing to preserve a big lead and forcing Boston to go to Aroldis Chapman on nights when they planned to avoid him. The final straw came Monday when Alcala allowed back-to-back no-doubt homers to Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia and a double to Mike Yastrzemski as the Royals cut an 8-1 lead to 8-5 in a four-run eighth inning.

“The stuff was good. He wasn’t able to throw strikes,” said manager Alex Cora. “Good kid, good stuff. We’ll see what the future holds, but we needed to make a change.”

In total, Alcala had a 3.31 ERA while allowing 19 hits, walking eight batters and striking out 18 in 19 games with the Red Sox. He had an 8.88 ERA in 22 games with the Twins before the trade.

Campbell returns to the bullpen as a low leverage option for Alex Cora. He has pitched once in the majors this year, allowing two runs on four hits in two innings in a blowout win over the Rockies on July 9. The 27-year-old has a 4.17 ERA in 34 games out of Worcester’s bullpen this year.