Updating an earlier transaction, the Red Sox have decided not to place right fielder J.D. Drew on the 15-day disabled list until Tuesday, choosing instead to option right-hander Kyle Weiland to Triple-A Pawtucket in order to make room for Jon Lester's return Monday night.
Manager Terry Francona said in his pregame meeting with the media that Drew would go on the DL with a left shoulder impingement as Lester returned to make his first start in three weeks. That move would have left the team with 13 pitchers and a thin bench.
Now, instead, Drew Sutton, who played in 26 games at five different positions for the Red Sox earlier in the year, will take Drew's spot on the roster.
Drew's issue has bothered him for some time but really began to become more bothersome over the last couple of weeks, according to Francona. The veteran outfielder has struggled all year but was having a particularly hard time at the plate in recent weeks. From July 2 to the last game he played on July 19, he was 5-for-37 (.135).
Francona hopes that some time off and treatment will allow Drew to come back strong for the final month-plus.
"Hopefully, a couple of weeks down will do him some good, get some strength back in that shoulder, maybe get a better chance of seeing the J.D. that we're hoping for," Francona said.
Francona initially said that the position flexibility of Darnell McDonald in the outfield and Yamaico Navarro in both the infield and outfield would have allowed the club to stay afloat for a little while as it carried 13 pitchers.
However, in addition to any real concerns the club had about carrying just three reserves, it did not want to disrupt the work of Weiland, who took Lester's spot in the rotation and made a pair of starts.
Sutton will hope to pick up where he left off as a very valuable reserve. He hit .298 with seven doubles and seven RBIs while playing all four infield spots and a little bit of left field.
