Mitch Moreland's return from the 10-day injured list turned out to be a short one.
In the Boston Red Sox' 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, Moreland exited the game after playing just six innings. He left with "right quad tightness" and Alex Cora didn't seem optimistic about the injury following the game.
It turns out that Moreland did, indeed, suffer a right quad strain and will be heading back to the IL one game after returning from a lower back strain. The Red Sox announced the move and the corresponding call-up on Twitter before Saturday's doubleheader.
Without Moreland (.225, team-leading 13 homers, 34 RBI) and Steve Pearce (lower back strain) still on the IL, rookie Michael Chavis becomes the primary first baseman. The slumping Chavis is hitting just .100 with 15 strikeouts in his past eight games (six starts).
The return of Marco Hernandez, 26, is an intriguing one for the Red Sox. The middle infielder debuted with Boston in 2016, hitting .294 with a homer in 40 games (56 plate appearances).
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Hernandez continued to hit fairly well (.276) at the beginning of 2017, his age-24 season, but a shoulder injury sidelined him for the rest of that campaign. He had additional surgery on his shoulder in 2018 after having difficulty with it in spring training, and he missed the whole season as well. Now, for the first time in two years, he will be on the major league roster.
Hernandez may see some action in Saturday's doubleheader, but he isn't in the lineup for the first game.
In addition to that call-up, the Red Sox brought back Josh Smith (0-1, 4.91 ERA in four appearances with Boston) as their 26th man for the doubleheader. He'll start the first game of the doubleheader.
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