Red Sox activate Kinsler, place Devers on DL

Wright nearing return, could contribute from bullpen

August 17th, 2018

BOSTON -- At some point, the Red Sox will get their full starting lineup on the active roster at the same time. But it won't be for at least 10 more days, and probably longer.
Just as second baseman (left hamstring strain) was activated from the disabled list on Friday, third baseman had to go back on the DL with that same injury.
"Good one and a bad one, huh?" said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "Raffy felt it in Baltimore. We tried to take care of his workload. I kind of noticed it on that infield hit in Philly, the last one, he kept stretching and stretching and stretching and I was like, 'There's something going on here.'"
The Red Sox acquired Kinsler from the Angels on July 30, but when he made his debut for his new team, Devers was on the DL at the time with his first left hamstring strain.

And by the time Devers came back on Aug. 8 -- perhaps too soon in hindsight -- Kinsler was in the midst of his DL stint.
Unlike the 21-year-old Devers, who was dealing in uncharted waters with hamstring woes, Kinsler has been around the block long enough to know exactly when he was healthy enough to return.
"I'll be ready," said Kinsler, who batted sixth on Friday. "To get right in the middle of that lineup, hopefully I'll be running a lot, scoring a lot, getting up with guys on base. Any time you can do that in this game, it's a lot of fun, so I'm excited. If I couldn't steal a base, I wouldn't be back."
This is the third time Devers has been on the DL since July 11. His first DL stint was due to left shoulder inflammation. The normally gregarious slugger was clearly frustrated on Friday by his latest misfortune.
"Yeah, it's frustrating because this has never happened to me in my career and to be dealing with it now is annoying," said Devers. "All I can do is try to work hard for it to go away for good."

Devers played one Minor League rehab game before being activated the last time. The Red Sox are likely to be more conservative this time.
"Now, with the timetable, we would like him to play a few games [in the Minors] when he comes back, probably, if we have time," said Cora. "The season is going to be over Sept. 3 down there. We'll see where we're at.
"I talked to him a little bit today. For how bad this guy wants to play, you've got to be smart. We need to avoid this. Going to the DL is not the greatest thing."
Wright can help bullpen
With the Red Sox still trying to solidify bullpen roles down the stretch and into the postseason, one thing that should help is the return of knuckleballer , who seems to be making progress with the left knee inflammation that has sidelined him since June 23.
"Steven, he's back on the mound, throwing bullpens. I saw him earlier, he threw a few bullpens when we were on the road. He's feeling good. We'll see where we go with that," said Cora. "I don't know if that means he's on a rehab assignment. The way I saw him in the weight room, the way he talked, he feels like he's getting very close."
While Wright has had success as a starter and a reliever for Boston this season, the latter role would be more helpful given the construction of the current roster.
How can Wright help in relief?
"The same as earlier in the season when he came in," said Cora. "It's a change of pace. He did an outstanding job coming in the middle of games and giving us a chance to win ballgames. When he's on, it's a tough one, it's a good one. I think when he comes back it's going to be in that role. We'll see how it goes when he comes back."