Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Place Ailing Veteran Pitcher On IL, Call Up Dynamic Shortstop Prospect

Boston made a fantastic roster swap

Scott Neville

Red Sox Place Ailing Veteran Pitcher On IL, Call Up Dynamic Shortstop Prospect
Red Sox Place Ailing Veteran Pitcher On IL, Call Up Dynamic Shortstop Prospect /
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The Boston Red Sox are shaking up the roster for the better as they ride a six-game win streak entering play Wednesday night.

Prior to Game 3 of their four-game set against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, the Red Sox opted to swap out a veteran hurler on his last leg for an electric middle infielder. 

The Red Sox placed right-hander Corey Kluber on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation to make room for shortstop/second baseman David Hamilton on the active roster.

This move makes sense for a myriad of reasons, let's start with Kluber. The 37-year-old former two-time Cy Young winner is cooked. There is no better performance to illustrate that than last night, when he allowed five hits -- three of which were monster home runs -- a walk and notched a pair of strikeouts in three innings. He entered play with the highest home runs allowed per nine innings in Red Sox history (2.8), and somehow added to his record.

The Twins elected to use a position player on the mound to close out the game, who had a much easier time getting through an inning.

Is Kluber actually hurt? Unlikely. But if the Red Sox are refusing to designate Kluber for assignment, a fake injury is the next-best option.

Now for the good stuff. David Hamilton is set to make his big league debut, providing reliable defense, -- his range and glove are strong but some question his arm strength -- solid bat-to-ball skills, occasional bursts of power and a ton of speed.

The 25-year-old rookie gets his shot in the majors due to Pablo Reyes dealing with an abdominal injury. The ailment appears to be minor as Reyes claims he's available Wednesday if needed.

Hamilton is hitting .255 with 23 extra-base hits including 11 home runs, 25 RBIs and a .825 OPS in 52 games. He also has 27 steals in 33 attempts. Last season he swiped 70 bags in 78 attempts for Double-A Portland. That's right, he might even be faster than Jarren Duran. 

Given that rookie left-handed starting pitcher Brandon Walker is with the team and reportedly slated to make his debut Thursday plus Reyes appears to be okay, Hamilton might be on the roster for just a day. Hopefully, that's not the case, as he could be a fun option off the bench. Either way, it's good to know that he's on Boston's radar.

More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly Could Trade Dynamic Outfielder, Rising Fan Favorite If They Sell

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Scott Neville
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

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