With offseason acquisition Adrian Gonzalez leading the league in batting average and RBIs, David Ortiz regaining his power stroke with 17 home runs and ace Josh Beckett sporting the lowest ERA in baseball, there is certainly no lack of star power for the Sox.
But as manager Terry Francona has alluded to, Boston will look for all 25 players to contribute in some form in the second half of the season, and there are some bench players who Tito probably has in mind.
Mike Cameron signed a two-year contract in December of 2009 but missed most of last season due to injury. With the Sox adding speedster Carl Crawford in the offseason, Cameron has found himself in only 31 games this season, hitting a career-low .154. Despite his struggles at the dish, his speed and experience could be valuable.
Josh Reddick was brought up from Triple-A Pawtucket on May 26 and has quickly impressed. The 24-year-old is hitting a dazzling .414 in 12 games this season, and smacked a solo home run in Saturday night's 6-4 loss to the Pirates. Time will tell how long his hot streak continues.
Darnell McDonald immediately made his presence felt in Red Sox Nation on April 20, 2010, when he hit a home run in the eighth inning and a walk-off single in the ninth to give the Sox a 7-6 victory over the Rangers in his Sox debut. During the 2010 season, he played 117 games and hit a respectable .270 with 34 RBIs. This season, he has played in 28 games and has a .109 batting average.
Drew Sutton was called up on May 20 and has proved to be very useful, hitting .297 with seven of his 11 hits for extra bases. Still only 28 years old, Sutton has room to grow and has proved to be solid fielder who can play multiple positions.
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Which Red Sox bench player will play the biggest role down the stretch?survey software
