BALTIMORE -- On Sunday, after the Red Sox finished an interleague road series in Philadelphia, Adrian Gonzalez had reason to believe he was through with outfield duty -- at least until the Sox play six more road games in interleague parks in mid-June.
Think again.
Gonzalez was back in right field Tuesday, as the Red Sox activated Kevin Youkilis, but put him at first, keeping Will Middlebrooks at third, and shifting Gonzalez to the outfield.
It isn't likely to happen too often, but for now, it's a way to keep Middlebrooks in the lineup.
"Even in a small outfield, we'll have to (appraise) that situation as we see it more," said Bobby Valentine. "I would say that probably less is better than more."
Valentine isn't asking Gonzalez to become a Gold Glove outfielder over night, but rather, just handle the basics.
"I don't think he'll mess up anything," said Valentine. "There just me be a few that he doesn't get to. If it comes to the point that there's outs that we're giving away, then we'll probably scratch the idea. But any outfielder, if you don't get to a baseball, it's a hit. It will become a little subjective after a while.
Boston Red Sox
"If it's obvious that a ball should be caught and it's not caught, then we'll have a different (appraisal)."
"I think that Adrian knows himself really well," said general manager Ben Cherington. "He knows how far he can push it and I think Bobby has a good feel for how far he can push it. It's not going to be an everyday thing. It's probably not a long-term thing. But in the short-term, here and there, and in the right ballparks, maybe it helps us a little bit. We've got to do it in safe a way as possible."