KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Boston Red Sox claimed left-hander Bruce Chen off waivers from Houston on Wednesday.

Chen, 25, could wind up working long relief. He is 7-1 with a 4.14 ERA in 91 career relief appearances.

He made 11 relief appearances this season with Houston, with no record and a 6.00 ERA, eight strikeouts and eight walks. He has spent all or parts of the last six seasons in the majors in the NL.

“We think he can help us now in the ‘pen from the left side,” general manager Theo Epstein said. “We think there’s still some upside left to him. It’s been a bit of an enigma as to why he hasn’t replicated his minor league success in the big leagues. Maybe a change of leagues will help.

Chen will join the Red Sox on Friday in Minnesota.

“He’s got command and feel of three pitches,” Epstein said. “He gets hitters out usually away. We looked at him a lot in spring training. This is not a major move per se, but we need to do what we can to improve.”