Red Sox announce roster moves

August 5, 2014

BOSTON, MA - The Boston Red Sox today announced the following roster moves:

Outfielder/first baseman Allen Craig was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left foot sprain (retroactive to August 2). To fill his spot on the 25-man roster, outfielder Corey Brown was selected to the active major league roster from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Right-handed pitcher Heath Hembree was recalled from Pawtucket. He fills the roster spot of right-handed pitcher Steven Wright, who was optioned to Pawtucket following Sunday night's game against the New York Yankees.

Brown (wearing no. 39), and Hembree (wearing no. 38) will be active for tonight's game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium beginning at 8:15 p.m. ET

Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcements.

Craig, 30, injured his left foot while running the bases in the eighth inning Friday night against the Yankees. Acquired from St. Louis along with right-handed pitcher Joe Kelly on Thursday, Craig went 1-for-4 with a double in his Red Sox debut. Between both clubs in 2014 the right-handed batter is hitting .237 (88-for-371) with 18 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, and 44 RBI in 98 games. The 2013 National League All-Star ranked fourth among NL qualifiers with a .312 batting average over the last three seasons (2011-13), helping St. Louis to the postseason in all three years, including the 2011 World Series title. Signed by the Cardinals as an eighth-round selection in the 2006 June Draft, Craig is a career .291 hitter (483-for-1,662) with 104 doubles, three triples, 57 home runs, 291 RBI, and 127 walks over 470 games.

Brown, 28, joins the Red Sox for his first major league stint of the season. A non-roster invitee to Red Sox Spring Training this year, he has hit .226 (66-for-292) with 14 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs, 39 RBI, and 27 walks in 83 games for the PawSox. Defensively for Pawtucket, Brown has played 51 games in center field, 30 in right field, and one game in left field. Entering play today, he led the club and was tied for 10th in the International league in home runs, and ranked fourth in the IL in at-bats per home run ratio (18.25). The left-handed batter has played in 36 major league games in his career, all for the Washington Nationals over the last three seasons (2011-13), going 7-for-40 (.175) with three doubles, two home runs, and four RBI. Originally a supplemental first round selection of the Oakland Athletics in 2007, Brown was signed by Boston as a minor league free agent on January 31, 2014.

Hembree, 25, begins his first major league stint with the Red Sox after being acquired from San Francisco on July 26 with left-handed pitcher Edwin Escobar in exchange for right-hander Jake Peavy. He has spent the entire 2014 season at Triple-A appearing in 43 games between Fresno and Pawtucket, going 1-3 with 19 saves, a 3.73 ERA (17 ER/41.0 IP) and 50 strikeouts. A Pacific Coast League mid-season All-Star this year, Hembree ranked first in the PCL in games finished (35) and was second in saves (18) at the time of his acquisition. With Pawtucket, he has made two scoreless appearances with one save, and has struck out four in 1.2 innings pitched. The No. 7 overall prospect in the Giants organization entering 2014 according to Baseball America, Hembree made his major league debut for San Francisco in 2013, making nine scoreless appearances (7.2 IP).

Wright, 29, was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket Sunday for his first major league stint of the season but did not appear in that night's game. He is 6-2 this year with a 2.85 ERA (24 ER/75.2 IP), 60 strikeouts and only 56 hits and 16 walks allowed over 12 starts between Double-A Portland (1 start) and Pawtucket (11 starts). The right-handed knuckleballer began the season on the disabled list recovering from right sports hernia surgery and was activated on June 4 after making one rehab start each with Portland and Pawtucket. Wright made his big league debut with four outings for the Red Sox last year, including one start, and went 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA (8 ER/13.1 IP) and 10 strikeouts. He was acquired by the Red Sox from Cleveland at the 2012 non-waiver trade deadline.