Red Sox announce roster moves
BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today activated right-handed pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka from the 15-day disabled list, placed designated hitter David Ortiz on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to August 25) due to a right Achilles strain, recalled outfielder Ryan Kalish from Triple-A Pawtucket and optioned right-handed pitcher Pedro Beato to Pawtucket. Matsuzaka and Kalish will be active for today’s game against the Royals at Fenway Park, with Matsuzaka slated as the starting pitcher.
The announcements were made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington.
Matsuzaka, 31, was placed on the disabled list on July 3 with a right upper trapezius strain, his second DL stint of the season. In five starts during a rehab stint with the PawSox, Matsuzaka went 1-1 with a 2.78 ERA (7 ER/22.2 IP), just 11 hits allowed and 21 strikeouts, including a 7.0-inning, 1-hit scoreless outing in his last start on Tuesday against Minnesota’s Rochester affiliate. The right-hander began the year on the 15-day DL recovering from Tommy John surgery and made five starts for Boston after his original June 9 activation, going 0-3 with a 6.65 ERA (17 ER/23.0 IP) and 20 strikeouts. Signed by the Red Sox as a free agent on December 14, 2006, he owns a career 49-33 record with a 4.34 ERA (311 ER/645.2 IP) and 588 strikeouts in 111 Major League games (110 starts).
For Ortiz, 36, this is his second stint on the disabled list in 2012. He missed 35 games from July 17-August 23, also due to a right Achilles strain, and was activated on Friday, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI that night against the Royals. Ortiz is batting .318 (103-for-324) with 26 doubles, 23 home runs, 60 RBI and 56 walks in 90 games for the Red Sox this season, his eighth career All-Star campaign in the last nine years. His .611 slugging percentage leads all Major Leaguers with at least 350 plate appearances this season. The left-handed batter has hit safely in each of his last 12 games dating back to July 2, his longest streak of the year. In 1,832 career Major League games over 16 seasons with Minnesota (1997-2002) and Boston (2003-12), Ortiz is a lifetime .285 hitter (1,863-for-6,539) with 482 doubles, 16 triples, 401 home runs, 1,326 RBI and 1,011 walks.
Kalish, 24, returns for his third stint with the Red Sox this season. In 25 games with Boston in 2012, he has hit .203 (16-for-79) with three doubles, five RBI, 11 runs scored, five walks and three stolen bases while making 19 appearances in center field and five in right. A left-handed batter, he began the season on the 60-day disabled list recovering from left shoulder surgery and has hit .261 (29-for-111) with five doubles, four homers, 14 RBI, 18 runs and seven stolen bases in 27 games with the PawSox this season, including three games on rehab, and he also played three rehab contests each for High-A Salem and Double-A Portland. Selected by Boston in the ninth round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, Kalish has appeared in 78 Major League games in his career, all with the Red Sox in 2010 and 2012, over which he is 57-for-242 (.236) with 14 doubles, a triple, four home runs, 29 RBI, 37 runs, 17 walks and 13 stolen bases.
The 25-year-old Beato earned the win yesterday in his Red Sox debut, allowing two runs in 2.0 innings of relief, after being recalled from Pawtucket prior to the game. The right-hander was acquired from the Mets on August 16 to complete the trade of catcher Kelly Shoppach and appeared in two games in relief for the PawSox prior to his recall, with six strikeouts over 3.0 scoreless frames. He pitched in seven games for the Mets this season, all during the month of July, and also went 4-4 with a 4.14 ERA (17 ER/37.0 IP) and 27 strikeouts in 24 games (1 start) for Triple-A Buffalo. Originally selected by the Orioles in the supplemental round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, he has a 3-1 record with a 4.79 ERA (39 ER/73.1 IP) and 46 strikeouts in 68 career Major League appearances, all in relief, with the Mets (2011-12) and Red Sox (2012).