Red Sox activate Shane Victorino from DL; option Jackie Bradley Jr.

The Boston Rox made a series of moves on Friday, activating Shane Victorino from the 15-day disabled list, optioning Jackie Bradley Jr. to Triple A Pawtucket and placing catcher Blake Swihart on the DL.

The Boston Rox made a series of moves on Friday, activating rightfielder Shane Victorino from the 15-day disabled list, optioning Jackie Bradley Jr. to Triple A Pawtucket and placing catcher Blake Swihart on the DL.

Victorino, who also missed three weeks earlier in the season with a hamstring injury, had been sidelined since May 24 with a left calf strain. He was not in the lineup for the Red Sox' series opener against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park on Friday, but manager John Farrell told reporters he expected Victorino to start on Saturday.

“Well, when Vic’s been on the field, he’s been a key contributor,” Farrell said, according to MLB.com. “We’ve seen him have an impact on both sides of the ball for us and we expect that going forward. We’re still in the process of building him up with the number of consecutive games played, but I would also anticipate him being in the lineup probably [Saturday].”

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Over 20 games this season, Victorino is batting .255 with one home run, three RBIs and a .724 OPS.

To make room for Victorino, the Red Sox optioned Bradley back to Pawtucket. Since re-joining the Red Sox on June 25, Bradley went 4-for-19 with one home run, two RBIs and a .641 OPS.

Swihart landed on the DL after dealing with a left foot injury since June 20. The 23-year-old catcher made his major-league debut on May 2 and in 40 games batted .241 with one home run, 11 RBIs and a .602 OPS. He last played on Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

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Ryan Hanigan, who as activated off the 60-day disabled list on Thursday, and Sandy Leon will handle the catching duties without Swihart.

Righthander Noe Ramirez was selected from Pawtucket to fill Swihart’s spot.

- Mike Fiammetta