After departing from Friday night’s loss against the New York Yankees in the middle of the second inning, the Red Sox on Saturday placed first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back strain.
In Pearce’s place, first baseman/outfielder Sam Travis has been recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. The club made the roster move offical earlier Saturday.
According to Sox manager Alex Cora, Pearce left Friday’s game early because of back spasms, and less than a full day later, the 36-year-old veteran was shelved for the second time this year.
Initially opening his first full season with Boston on the injured list due to a left calf injury suffered back in March, Pearce is currently slashing .180/.245/.258 with just one home run and nine RBI through 29 games played and 99 plate appearances in 2019.
The reigning World Series MVP may not have missed much time with that injured calf earlier in the season, but this time around, perhaps it would be wise of the Red Sox to send Pearce out on a rehab assignment so that he could maintain his form that was so valuable to the club last year.
On the other side of this transaction, just like it was in March, Sam Travis has been recalled from the PawSox.
The 25-year-old broke camp this year by making his first big league Opening Day roster and went 2-for-7 with a pair of singles before being optioned down on April 4th.
Through 49 games with Pawtucket this season, Travis is slashing .251/.359/.371 with three home runs and 20 runs driven in.
Without both Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce on the 25-man roster for the time being, expect Michael Chavis, Brock Holt, and of course Travis to see the majority of playing time at first base for the Red Sox.
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