Injured Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland started a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level on Thursday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Moreland, who has been out for several weeks, may be in for a somewhat “lengthy” stint in the minors as he works his way back to the bigs, per Cotillo.
Moreland got off to a fine start this season, slashing .225/.316/.543 (116 wRC+) with 13 home runs and an eye-opening .318 ISO in 174 plate appearances, but multiple ailments have derailed his year since late May. The 33-year-old landed on the 10-day IL with a lower back strain May 29, and though he made a quick return, Moreland went back to the shelf June 8 after suffering a right quad strain.
The lefty-hitting Moreland and righty Steve Pearce opened the season in a timeshare at first base for the Red Sox. Pearce has been down since June 1, though, and knee troubles will prevent him from returning in the near future. The long-term absences of Moreland and Pearce have left first almost exclusively to Michael Chavis, who has enjoyed a respectable rookie year. Chavis had been Boston’s primary second baseman before the injuries to its first basemen. Brock Holt and Marco Hernandez have offered good production there in Chavis’ stead, so it’s unclear how the club will divvy up playing time between first and the keystone once Moreland returns.
Moreland’s comeback figures to have negative consequences for either the optionable Hernandez or veteran infielder Eduardo Nunez, who Cotillo suggests could become a DFA candidate at that point. Although the Red Sox would owe Nunez the balance of his $4MM salary in getting rid of him, he hasn’t justified a roster spot this season. A .233/.249/.313 line (40 wRC+) in 170 PA has relegated Nunez to a bench role.
This is making my head spin. Edwardo has been impressive n clutch hitter, but his injuries, n age, have slowed his production this yr. I hope all the youngins stay.
I’d say that Chavis has been more than “respectable” slashing .263/.332/.467 with 15 HR and 48 RBI and the versatility to handle multiple positions.
Agreed. Made it sound like Moreland (“fine”) was having a much better season than Chavis (“respectable”). A .213 BA isn’t fine, it’s Dave Kingman territory.
Sadly in today’s game, Kingman would be amazing today to the point that he would be liked by all..
Totally agree. Respectable is definitely the wrong word. They are a little over 1/2 the season and he has 15 bombs as a rookie. Played second and first. He could hit 30 bombs as a rookie. So much for the bad farm system.Dahlbac is also hitting a lot of bombs in AA as an infielder.
Completely disagree with Nunez being DFA’d??? That makes no sense… Clutch player that has value on the trade Market and could net a good Bullpen arm in return… he is a valuable player and with steady at bats would be more productive. To the writer of this note…. have a clue………
Well that comment didn’t age well.