After days of speculation, the Red Sox activated Pablo Reyes from the 10-day injured list on Monday morning, and optioned pitchers Justin Garza and Brandon Walter to Triple-A Worcester.
The Red Sox waited as long as they could before making a decision about Reyes, whose rehab assignment expired on Sunday night. He’s out of options, so keeping him in the minors wasn’t on the table.
But the predicament in which the Red Sox find themselves is much bigger than Reyes alone, and activating him is only a stopgap. They’re now carrying four middle infielders (Reyes, Christian Arroyo, Yu Chang, and Kiké Hernández) with only three middle infield roster spots.
Justin Turner has also been playing some second base of late, as Alex Cora wants his offensive production as often as possible. Inadvertently, that decision has highlighted how much more successful the Red Sox can be when using certain players.
They have to pare down this area of the roster almost immediately, as John Schreiber is slated to make his own return from the IL on Tuesday. Walter is the corresponding move for Reyes, and Garza came up when Brayan Bello went on the Paternity List, so Schreiber will have to take someone else’s place.
With so many factors at play, there’s no clear frontrunner for the chopping block, though strong defense will likely give Chang and Reyes some advantage over Arroyo and Hernández.
Chang has only appeared in 28 games this season, but he’s the best defender of the group by far, worth plus-2 Outs Above Average (OAA) and plus-2 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) at shortstop. Since returning from the IL on July 7, he’s collected four extra-base hits in 11 games. Over the weekend, he collected a hit and at least one RBI in each of the three games against the New York Mets, including a double and home run. He leads the quartet with an overall .395 slugging percentage (albeit a much smaller sample size), and in just 28 total games, he’s homered more than Arroyo, and is only one homer behind Hernández.
The Red Sox acquired Reyes from the Oakland A’s on May 12, and he’s been solid from both sides of the plate. Over 27 games, he’s hitting .303 with a .702 OPS, 20 hits (including four doubles), four walks, and 10 strikeouts. He ranks in the 73rd MLB percentile in sprint speed; he and Chang are tied for the fifth-best Sprint Speed (28.1 ft/sec) on the roster.
During his four years in Boston, there have been stretches when Arroyo was the their hottest hitter. Unfortunately, cold streaks and injuries make those offensive bursts too few and far between. In 58 games this season, he’s hitting .247 with a .659 OPS, three home runs, and 21 RBI.
Of the four, Hernández is the only one who hasn’t missed time with an injury this year. He also brings broader defensive versatility to the table. Unfortunately, his best glove work during his Red Sox tenure isn’t in the middle infield, and centerfield, where he shined in 2021, is firmly in the capable hands of Jarren Duran and Adam Duvall. Relegated almost entirely to shortstop and second base this year, Hernández is worth minus-6 DRS at short and zero DRS at second, and minus-13 OAA. He leads the majors with 15 errors (14 at shortstop), which strongly correlates with the Red Sox topping the rankings with 68.
The utility-man’s hitting is also far from the electric days of 2021, his first season in Boston. Entering Tuesday, he’s hitting .222 with a .599 OPS, and only 66 hits and 22 walks in 86 games. His last extra base hit was a double on June 18, his last home run came on June 9.
However, it’s worth noting that Hernández hasn’t been put in a position to succeed. With Xander Bogaerts gone and Trevor Story sidelined after UCL surgery in January, Hernández ended up shoehorned into the middle infield. The Red Sox extended him last fall thinking he’d be their primary centerfielder, but he’s spent virtually zero time at the position where he’s been at his best throughout his time in Boston. A trade to a team with centerfield needs could be a welcome reset button for him, and therefore, beneficial for all involved.
None of the aforementioned middle infielders have remaining minor league options. Chang, Arroyo, and Hernández have each accrued more than three years of service time, and could, therefore, refuse an outright assignment to the minors in favor of free agency. However, Hernández is the only one with more than five years of service time, and would therefore not have to forfeit the remaining guaranteed money on his 1-year, $10 million contract.
The lack of options adds an interesting wrinkle to bringing back Reyes at all; with little more than a year of service time, if the Red Sox designate him for assignment and he clears waivers, he’s the only one unable to refuse assignment to the minor leagues.
If Story’s rehab assignment proceeds on its current schedule, a second middle infield decision will be in the team’s not-so-distant future. He’ll be Boston’s everyday shortstop, so one of the spots will, undoubtedly, go to him as soon as he’s ready.
Change is often uncomfortable, but too many major-league middle infielders to choose from, and a farm system overflowing with promising infield talent? That’s the definition of a good problem for a team to have.