BOSTON -- There's a possibility the Red Sox will call up top prospect Yoan Moncada when rosters expand in September, but no decision has been made.
The 21-year-old switch-hitter continues to thrive at Double-A Portland, where he is slashing .288/.393/.546 with 10 homers and 26 RBIs in the 42 games since his promotion. He has also transitioned to third base, a position the Red Sox have lacked consistent production at of late.
"Whether or not he comes up in a role that will be mixed in … he's obviously been much better as a left-handed hitter this year," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "Does he give you a basestealing threat coming off the bench as a possibility? Those are the types of things we have talked about. Whether or not he comes up here is yet to be determined. We know he's an exciting young player with tremendous talents but whether that time is 2016 or sometime after that has yet to be determined."
Moncada is rated the No. 2 prospect in the game by MLBPipeline.com.
The Red Sox have an off-day on Thursday, so the first day they can play with an expanded roster is Friday in Oakland.
Farrell said recently the Red Sox are likely to stagger their callups, bringing up a couple of pitchers this weekend and more players once the Triple-A and Double-A seasons end on Sept. 5.
Righty reliever Joe Kelly is a certainty to be among the first wave of players called up.