Red Sox Calling Up Hottest Prospect In Organization To Replace Injured Star

Boston is electing to make a move for the hottest hitter in the minors

Scott Neville | Aug 22, 2023

Red Sox Calling Up Hottest Prospect In Organization To Replace Injured Star /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are amid their most important stretch of the season with the American League Wild Card race heating up.

Boston just kicked off a run of playing the Houston Astros seven times in a 10-game stretch -- with a chance to supplant them in postseason contention with a strong showing. They won't have their fastest player to aid them but they reportedly are about to call up one of the hottest hitters in minor league baseball.

"Outfield prospect Wilyer Abreu will join the Red Sox in Houston on Tuesday," MassLive's Christopher Smith wrote late Monday night. "Another source said that the Red Sox plan to activate Abreu for the game."

Abreu is hitting .274 with 34 extra-base hits including 22 home runs, 65 RBIs and a .929 OPS in 86 games for Triple-A Worcester. He's been one of the Red Sox's top sluggers in the upper minors since coming over in the Christian Vázquez trade last summer alongside Enmanuel Valdez.

The 24-year-old is hitting .424 with 13 extra-base hits including nine home runs, 25 RBIs and a 1.477 OPS in 17 games in August.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora hinted toward Jarren Duran possibly needing a stint on the injured list for a seemingly minor toe contusion -- considering speed is the slugger's top asset.

With Abreu on his way to making his Major League Baseball debut -- it sounds as if the Red Sox are going to place Duran on the injured list for the minimum 10 games and make it retroactive to Sunday when he sustained the injury.

Duran won't be gone for long while Abreu gets a taste of the big leagues and a shot to do some damage against the club that traded him last summer.

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Published Aug 22, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu