Why Red Sox Would, Wouldn’t Call Up Scorching-Hot Triple-A Bat

There might not be a hotter hitter on the planet than Boston Red Sox prospect Wilyer Abreu.

Yes, we understand that is a strong statement, but there’s no denying how dominant the 24-year-old has been throughout August. Abreu has played 13 games for Triple-A Worcester on the month, and has a .435/.527/.1.000 slash line with eight home runs, two doubles, 21 RBIs and eight walks to just nine strikeouts.

Abreu was even named International League Player of the Week on Wednesday. In short, he’s been absolutely incredible.

Did Wilyer Abreu homer?

Of course he did.

That's 5 (and 12 RBI) in his past 4 games, and 7 in 7, for the @RedSox's No. 17 prospect. pic.twitter.com/orUbutvPOB

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 16, 2023

The Red Sox originally acquired Abreu when he was in Double-A, adding he and Enmanuel Valdez from the Houston Astros in a trade for Christian Vázquez. Valdez has already made his Major League Baseball debut and been sent back down, but Abreu has toiled around in the minors for the entirety of his tenure with Boston.

So, why wouldn’t the Red Sox try to capitalize on Abreu’s incredible start to August and call him up to make his debut? Well, there are a few reasons, just like there are a few reasons why they could. Let’s dive into both.

The case for a call-up
Abreu appears to be maxed out in terms of his minor-league development, which is becoming apparent through the kind of month he’s had.

He got promoted to Triple-A to start the 2023 season and has put together a solid year, but outside of his tear to start August, has pretty much been the same player for the majority of the season. The Red Sox offense has seemingly stalled around the same time of Abreu’s break out, averaging 3.7 runs per game over the same span, despite playing American League swill for the majority of the month.

If there was ever a time to get the call, Abreu would hope it would be now.

The case against a call-up
There’s no room. It’s pretty much that simple.

Abreu is a below-average corner outfielder who hits from the left side of the plate. The Red Sox currently have two above-average outfielders who hit from the left side of the plate (Jarren Duran and Alex Verdugo) and another lefty who was in the AL batting title race for the majority of the season (Masataka Yoshida).

The Red Sox have struggled defensively in the infield all season and seem to have finally turned it around, so we doubt Alex Cora would want to switch things up and add problems to the outfield.

There’s a chance Abreu does make his debut before season’s end, with rosters expanding to 28 at the start of September. He’ll just have to hope his power-surge continues for another couple of weeks.