Red Sox's Joe Kelly: Will be eighth-inning reliever

Kelly is expected to be Boston's setup man after it was learned Tyler Thornburg (shoulder) will "most likely" begin the season on the disabled list, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

Analysis:

Kelly flourished as a full-time reliever in 2016, but has had an uneven spring, with seven strikeouts and seven walks over eight innings. Manager John Farrell feels Kelly is trying to be too perfect on every pitch and wants the right-hander to trust his stuff and get ahead of batters. As the eighth-inning reliever, Kelly is in position for save opportunities when closer Craig Kimbrel is not available.