Red Sox reportedly recalling Brock Holt

The Red Sox dealt their current third baseman and backup shortstop Jose Iglesias to the Tigers on Tuesday night in order to get Jake Peavy in a three-team trade, opening up a hole on the big-league roster. To fill that spot, the Sox are reportedly calling up infielder Brock Holt from Triple-A Pawtucket, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford and Alex Speier.

Holt has spent a little time in Boston, playing in 10 games with a .290/.333/.290 line. He's capable of playing shortstop and second, and the Sox even used him a little bit at third, so he's fine as a stopgap and bench piece going forward. What the presence of Holt means in the present, though, is likely that the Red Sox either 1) haven't decided between Will Middlebrooks or Xander Bogaerts to take over at third base for the rest of the season or 2) are waiting to see if they can pull in a third baseman before Wednesday's 4 pm trade deadline.

Right now, it's difficult to know which is the more likely scenario. Manager John Farrell seemed nonplussed by Middlebrooks' time in Triple-A when last he spoke of it, and there is merit to the idea of leaving him in the minors for the rest of the year so he can get a fresh start in 2014. There is also merit to bringing him up now to see if he can latch on to a second chance, rather than letting Bogaerts leapfrog him on the depth chart while he waits for shortstop to open up. Acquiring a bridge piece like Michael Young, someone who could be had cheaply and could be shifted to the bench when needed, might make sense if the Sox want to see more out of Bogaerts at Triple-A and give him additional time at third base to prepare, but again, it's harder to figure out the plan than it is the potential ones.

Read more Red Sox:

• Should the Red Sox call up top prospect Xander Bogaerts?
• The complicated left side of the Red Sox infield
• Why do we obsess over the trade deadline?
• Jacoby Ellsbury, the Red Sox, and an ever changing future
• Despite drop in velocity, Felix Doubront turning into top arm for Red Sox