Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Called Up Wrong Middle Infielder From Worcester, New Report Shows

It looks like Boston messed up one of its recent roster moves

Colin Keane

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As September began, the Boston Red Sox used one of their two extra roster spots on Enmanuel Valdez, which may have been a mistake.

The Red Sox need offense right now (badly), and Valdez isn’t adding anything to the lineup. Meanwhile, another middle infielder has been crushing the ball with Triple-A Worcester Red Sox over the past month.

Jamie Westbrook is on fire at the plate right now, and he’s making Boston look silly for not electing to promote him instead of Valdez in September.

FanSided’s Katie Manganelli discussed the clear discrepancy between Westbrook and Valdez in a new report this week, indicating that the Red Sox surely regret the Valdez call-up.

“Jamie Westbrook's hot bat would've been a better fit for the Red Sox's expanded roster than Enmanuel Valdez,” Manganelli said.

“The 29-year-old (Westbrook) has five hits in his last two games between Sept. 1-2, including two doubles and two homers. He's collected seven RBI, scored three runs of his own and hasn't fanned in eight at-bats to begin the final month of the regular season.”

“Westbrook's torrid stretch didn't come out of nowhere, he also posted stellar offensive numbers throughout August. He slashed .316/.416/.447 over 22 games, which includes a four-hit outing on Aug. 7. Westbrook's dominant August and great start to September raised his full-season slash line to .300/.392/.502 with an .894 OPS in Triple-A.”

“Since Westbrook's September streak began, Valdez has played two games in the big leagues without making any offensive contributions. He made some excellent defensive plays in the field against the Mets on Sept. 2, a great sign for the infielder whose defense has been problematic this year, but the Red Sox need offense to move up the wild card standings, and Valdez has struggled to provide.”

Every game for the Red Sox is a must-win from here on out. If Boston fails to steal at least one win this week at Citi Park, calls to raise the white flag on the season could follow.

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Colin Keane
COLIN KEANE

Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "Boston Red Sox On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

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