At this point, all Boston Red Sox fans can manage is a sigh of relief. 

After declaring that this season would be of Cy Young Award-caliber, starting pitcher Joe Kelly (2-5) has undergone incredible hardship on the mound throughout the first three months of 2015, earning a well-deserved demotion to Triple-A Pawtucket. 

In the eyes of Red Sox Nation, the team waited far too long to make this move.  

In fourteen starts this season, Kelly has surrendered four or more runs on seven separate occasions, amounting a porous 5.67 ERA (98th out of 102 A.L. pitchers), and making himself the scapegoat of a Red Sox pitching staff that has allowed the most runs in the American League. 

Despite harnessing breakneck speed on his fastball, Kelly's newly-developed slider and his curveball have been teed off on by hitters as he has allowed a .313 average on balls hit in the field of play and a 1.50 WHIP. In addition, he has stranded only 63.7% of runners on base. 

Many have called for Boston manager John Farrell to option Kelly to the bullpen; however, the fact that he allows so many baserunners to reach (112 in 74.2 innings this season) raises some red flags. 

Perhaps this experiment could be tested in Pawtucket in these coming weeks as, with the collection of low-end starters that the Big League ball club has at the moment, it may be a few weeks before Kelly returns to the mound at Fenway Park. 

The demotion of the four-year veteran makes room for outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr., a defensive stalwart whose restriction to the Minor Leagues so far this season has been due to his apparent inability to hit while with Boston in 2014. 

Bradley went 2 for 4 in his return to the Majors during Thursday's 8-6 loss to Baltimore, breaking an 0-for-30 streak that began in September. In 170 games with Boston, the speedster has batted just .192, planting doubts in Farrell's mind concerning Bradley's ability to be effective at the highest level. 

However, the third-year veteran improved his ability to reach base consistently while with Triple-A Pawtucket over the first few months of the season, making a statement to the organization. He batted .322 with four homers and 16 RBIs in 51 games with the PawSox, ranking second in the International League with an on-base percentage of .398. 

Bradley's effectiveness on the defensive end is guaranteed; however, for him to remain with the Red Sox, he must garner some consistency within the batter's box.