Outfielder Joey Gathright, shortstop Jose Iglesias, first baseman Lars Anderson, right-handed reliever Junichi Tazawa and left-handed reliever Trever Miller were those brought up after their season at Pawtucket came to an end.
Gathright presents one of the more interesting stories. A role player down the stretch with the 2009 Red Sox, the 30-year-old will give the Sox some late-game speed.
"He's here to pinch run," manager Terry Francona said. "He's got that ability to steal a base or go first to third. That's basically what they were trying to see, if he can impact a game, when he was in Triple-A. And he knows that and did a really good job of it. And we know him. So maybe he has a chance to pinch run at some point and win us a game."
Gathright was plucked from independent ball by the Red Sox last month. He said he thought that his manager with the Yuma Scorpions, Jose Canseco, was messing with him when he told Gathright that Boston was looking at him.
Still, the one-time Tampa Bay Devil Ray was feeling good about his chances at being in the major leagues once again.
"I was having a good year and I was hoping and hoping and hoping, but three games left in the year to get that call," he said of his surprise. "I was very shocked when I was called and happy because ultimately the goal is to be back.
"I'm going from [playing in front of] 55 people to 55,000, so it's exciting."
Francona said that Anderson will probably only play if the games become less important or late in a blowout. Otherwise, Adrian Gonzalez will get all the innings at first base. The manager added that Anderson deserved the call-up with the way he played in the second half — Anderson hit .288 after the All-Star break.
Iglesias, meanwhile, showed more aggression at the plate down the stretch, all part of his continued progress as a hitter. With the glove, he's already there.
"His progression may be a little different than everybody's," Francona said. "You may not see everything until he gets to the big leagues. His glove is so good, that at some point this guy's going to be a major league shortstop. The more he hits, the better."
That won't happen often this month, but expect to see Iglesias as a late-inning defensive replacement and possibly as a pinch runner.
Miller and Tazawa may have the greatest impact. The club has shuffled left-handed relievers in and out of the bullpen all year. The 38-year-old Miller appeared in 45 games for St. Louis and Toronto this year. For his career, he has held lefties to a .226 average.
Tazawa, 25, is coming off Tommy John surgery. Francona said he won't pitch two days in a row, but could get a multi-inning relief appearance from time to time, something that could prove incredibly valuable to an overworked bullpen.
"I think since we have enough bodies we have the ability to pick and choose when we pitch him and he can probably impact us, too," Francona added. "A couple of years ago in spring training he and Bard kind of lit up the Grapefruit League, so we're excited."
Tazawa posted a 2.51 ERA in 14 relief appearances with the PawSox. He was 2-3 with a 7.46 ERA in six games (four starts) for Boston in 2009.
