After nearly two months on the shelf, Daniel Nava finally is ready to return to action for the Boston Red Sox.
Nava, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left thumb strain back on May 26, was activated Tuesday ahead of Boston’s matchup with the Houston Astros. Infielder Deven Marrero was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket to make room for Nava on the 25-man roster.
The 32-year-old outfielder recently completed a 10-game rehab assignment with the PawSox during which he hit .250 with four walks, one home run and eight RBIs. The stint in Triple-A also afforded Nava time to remedy the poor mechanics he’d been exhibiting while trying to play through his injury.
“I’m getting there. I’m close,” Nava told reporters Tuesday, via The Providence Journal. “(Triple-A hitting coach Rich Gedman and I) were working a lot down there on simplifying some stuff because I did things wrong for a long time. It’s amazing how much we’re creatures of habit, to teach ourselves the wrong thing kind of quickly.”
Nava played in 27 games for the Red Sox before landing on the DL, posting a meager .159/.250/.190 stat line with just two extra-base hits in 63 at-bats. Though he began the season exclusively hitting left-handed, manager John Farrell said he has since returned to switch-hitting.
“We get a left-handed, experienced bat back to us, and he’s actually been swinging the bat pretty frequently from the right side, as well,” Farrell told reporters, via MassLive.com. “He comes back to us and he’ll work off the bench.”
Marrero was used sparingly following his June 20 call-up, starting just two games and logging seven total at-bats.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
