Red Sox activate Eduardo Nuñez, option Deven Marrero to Triple-A Pawtucket

After the Red Sox traded for Eduardo Nuñez, there was plenty of speculation on how they’d make room on the roster for the new infielder. The worst of that speculation was that they’d option top prospect Rafael Devers immediately after calling him up, which would have been banana pants. Now, I don’t want to take 100 percent of the credit for Devers staying up. That being said, I think it’s fair to say the Red Sox were convinced by my writing and I deserve 98 percent of the credit. Anyway, Deven Marrero is being optioned to Pawtucket to make room for Nuñez.

This seemed to be the obvious move, though it’s not one without downside. For one thing, Marrero had been starting to hit much better lately. In particular, he had been very effective against left-handed pitching. In fact, the plan before Nunez was brought in was that Marrero would platoon at third base with Devers. On top of that, the infield defense is now quite weak without Marrero’s plus glove to fall back on. Devers and Xander Bogaerts are both solid on the left side of the infield, but neither are great by any stretch. Now, the only other options are Nuñez and Brock Holt, both of whom can play all over the diamond but they aren’t great defensive players at any spot. The good news is that the Red Sox lean on a flyball-heavy pitching staff, so it doesn’t affect them as much as it would other teams.

In addition to this news, the Red Sox also recalled Josh Rutledge from his rehab assignment, but did not activate him. In other words, he’s taking a few days off and will restart his rehab clock when he’s ready.

There’s not much to say here besides the obvious. Concussions suck.