Red Sox to activate Franklin Morales

Franklin Morales is in Kansas City, and ready to be activated from the disabled list, marking the second player to return to the team today after Will Middlebrooks.

Morales' return to the team comes after a 7-week disabled stint, which itself came just a few weeks after a lengthy struggle with injury to start the season. He hasn't managed to stay consistently healthy since August 2012.

When he's been right, however, he's been a solid option for the Red Sox, be it as a lefty out of the pen or in the rotation. If his recent stint and injury history may have put the team off of the idea of looking at him as starting depth, he can still provide a left-handed arm that the Sox could still use, with Thornton on the disabled list (and perhaps just plain ineffective). Drake Britton has generally done a good job, but having a second, more experienced option will certainly not hurt.

There's no indication yet of a countermove for activating Morales, but Pedro Beato seems the obvious choice to take the hit.

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