The future is now for the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox recalled outfielder Andrew Benintendi, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, from Double-A Portland. The Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich first reported the news, and director of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed the move after the Red Sox’s 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
“It really came down to we looked at some possible alternatives to help us in left field,” Dombrowski said on “NESN Sports Today.” “We thought some of them were good choices, but we also thought the cost for some of those were quite high. We also weighed that versus what we thought the availability and being ready for Benintendi would be. And our people kept coming up and saying, ‘Well, he could play at the big league level. We think he’s ready.’
“Now, don’t look for him to hit in the middle of the lineup like he will eventually, but’s he’s a well-rounded player, he’s a good defensive player, he runs the bases well, he has a good arm. We’ve been working him out in left field, and he’s been able to play the wall well in Portland there.”
Benintendi, ranked Boston’s No. 2 prospect and the seventh-best prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com, has put up impressive numbers in 151 minor league games between Single-A and Double-A in his first two seasons in Boston’s farm system. His slash line is .312/.540/.932 in the those games, and he has 20 home runs and 107 RBIs.
He has eight home runs and 44 RBIs with a .295 batting average in 63 games with the Sea Dogs this year.
“It really came down to we think he can come up here and contribute to the club and help us win. And that’s important at this time. Now, he has a strong personality, he has a quality work ethic, a good makeup. If he goes through an adjustment period, which could happen, we think he could handle it.”
Let’s take a look at a few more notes from Monday.
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— In order to make room for Benintendi and newly acquired bullpen arm Fernando Abad, Boston has designated Tommy Layne and Michael Martinez for assignment, according to multiple reporters with the team in Seattle.
— So what’s the plan when it comes to using Benintendi? It appears the lefty will be used mostly against right-handed pitchers, while Bryce Bentz will get most of the at-bats against lefties. As a result, Benintendi likely will make his major league debut Wednesday against the Mariners.
— Despite how it looks, the Benintendi news wasn’t the only thing that happened Monday. The Red Sox also picked up another come-from-behind win thanks to Mookie Betts’ game-winning solo home run in the top of the ninth inning. However, Boston hasn’t exactly been hitting the ball well lately.
— But Boston didn’t need a big night from its bats thanks to Eduardo Rodriguez and the bullpen.
It was yet another encouraging start for Rodriguez, whose ERA has dropped from 8.59 at the start of July to 5.91 after Monday’s win. He allowed only one earned run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings before handing over the reigns to the bullpen.
— Monday also marked the return of closer Craig Kimbrel, who was activated off the disabled list before the contest. He pitched on his first night back, and while he did run into some trouble with a walk and wild pitch on a strikeout, he earned his 18th save of the season.
Thumbnail photo via Steven Branscombe/USA TODAY Sports Images
