UPDATE: The Sox have recalled Deven Marrero from Pawtucket and optioned pitcher Brandon Workman to Triple-A.
The Red Sox are expected to make a roster move today, and it could be the recall of infielder Deven Marrero. Marrero hasn't been hitting much at Triple-A Pawtucket -- he has a .169/.178/.211 slash line in 73 plate appearances this year, after hitting .198/.245/.242 for the PawSox in 96 games last season -- but with both Pablo Sandoval and Marco Hernandez on the disabled list and Brock Holt still suffering from vertigo, the Sox are short of help in the infield.
Marrero has already played 38 games with Boston over parts of the last two seasons, but the path to his natural position -- shortstop -- is currently blocked by Xander Bogaerts. Marrero's agent, Scott Boras, won't come out and say he wants the Red Sox to trade Marrero, but he also doesn't sound like he'd protest much if they did.
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“Deven Marrero needs to play in the major leagues, because his defensive acumen is, well, it’s just extraordinary, " Boras said on the CSNNE Baseball Show podcast. "And he’s in a system who has a player ahead of him" -- Bogaerts, also a Boras client -- "who’s an extraordinary player. It is so difficult to return to the minor leagues year after year . . . well, I’m sure the Red Sox know that.”
Does he communicate this to the Red Sox?
“I don’t discuss roster moves,” Boras said. “I just hear from all the people around, where they want to give Deven Marrero a chance to play in the major leagues because of the fact that he is the type of talent, particularly defensively, that is better than what a number of teams have. So the key thing and the most difficult thing for Deven, is to withstand the business of baseball.
“That when a team is going to move a player, they want a value that they believe is appropriate for him. I remember one of my clients, Sandy Alomar, went through this when he was with the San Diego Padres . . . Benito Santiago was ahead of him and finally a trade happened [to the Cleveland Indians] and a career blossomed.
“For Deven, the hardest part is to mentally cope with the idea of going to play in the minor leagues every day and putting forth, knowing that there is an opportunity that will unfold for him to achieve his dream. That’s a very difficult thing to do every day but it’s certainly something the players before him have done.”