Red Sox Demote Young Slugger As Fan Favorite Utility Man Returns

Boston is pushing away from the youth movement

Scott Neville | Sep 12, 2023

Red Sox Demote Young Slugger As Fan Favorite Utility Man Returns /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are not playing for anything with a few weeks left to go. While the organization has ramped up playing time for younger players such as outfielder Wilyer Abreu and super-utility man Ceddanne Rafaela, they made a move ahead of Tuesday night's game that went in the other direction.

"The Red Sox reinstated Pablo Reyes from the injured list and optioned Enmanuel Valdez to Triple-A Worcester," according to The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey.

Valdez had been hitting .333 (7-for-21) with two extra-base hits including a home run, four RBIs and a .887 OPS in seven games. The 24-year-old has above-average power and has shown flashes of being able to hit for average as well. He'll spend the rest of his season with the WooSox barring injury.

Reyes does not fit into the youth movement such as Valdez but is fighting for a roster spot moving forward. So far, he's done everything to earn the job.

The 30-year-old journeyman is hitting .303 with 11 extra-base hits including a pair of home runs, 18 RBIs and a .748 OPS (100 OPS+) in 51 games this season.

He's notched some clutch hits, including a walk-off grand slam against the Kansas City Royals when the Red Sox were still in contention. It'll be interesting to watch him fight to keep his spot down the stretch as a pivotal offseason approaches.

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Published Sep 12, 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