In the hours after second baseman Dustin Pedroia was placed on the 15-day disabled list, the Red Sox acquired infielder/outfielder Eric Patterson from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for lefty minor leaguer Fabian Williamson.
Patterson, 27, hit .204 with four home runs and nine RBIs and stole six bases in 45 games with the A's this year. He has appeared in 25 games in left field, seven in center and five at second base in 2010.
The younger brother of Baltimore Orioles outfielder Corey Patterson, Eric Patterson came up through the Chicago Cubs system. He is a career .224 hitter in 134 major league games with Chicago and Oakland.
The 21-year-old Williamson is 4-3 with a 3.72 ERA in 14 starts for Single-A Salem this year. He was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the David Aardsma trade on Jan. 20, 2009.
Pedroia suffered a fracture in his left foot when he fouled a ball off of it in Friday's 5-4 loss to San Francisco. He was placed on the DL before Saturday's game.
