Red Sox activate Brock Holt from disabled list

Brock Holt is back in Boston, returning to the 25-man roster after missing more than a month with a concussion. Mike Miller has been optioned to Pawtucket to make room.

The Red Sox have been without Holt since May 18th, though it's hard to pinpoint where exactly he got hurt. Holt and the Sox think that it may have come earlier in the month against the Athletics, but all we can do is speculate. If, indeed, it came on May 9th, it might go a long way towards explaining the 2-for-24 slide that followed it, dropping Holt's OPS by over 100 points to the .664 he left with.

Still, if there are mitigating circumstances to the worst of Holt's slump, the reality is that he was never nearly so good after the first three games of the season. He managed just 19 hits over the next 23 games leading up to that concussion, which isn't really what you're looking for in a starting left fielder. And this is hardly the first time Holt will have started strong and faded late. It's hard to imagine the Red Sox view him as a true answer at the position rather than as a big help for the bench.

But for now he'll help that depleted position, and hopefully shore up the infield quite a bit as well. The Red Sox have been playing more than a few players they'd rather not see in the starting lineup, and having Holt back should help with that, even if they take it slow to start.