Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Make Surprising Cut In Order To Activate Christian Arroyo From Injured List

Boston is getting rid of a player who has thrived in his bench role
Scott Neville|
Red Sox Make Surprising Cut In Order To Activate Christian Arroyo From Injured List
Red Sox Make Surprising Cut In Order To Activate Christian Arroyo From Injured List

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox made a move nobody saw coming on Monday morning as they elected to place a solid veteran on waivers over the likes of less established players.

The Red Sox designated Raimel Tapia for assignment to clear room for utility man Christian Arroyo, according to the Major League Baseball transaction wire.

Tapia is hitting .264 with six extra-base hits including a home run, 10 RBIs and a .701 OPS in 39 games. Most teams would be thrilled with that caliber of play off the bench, and it seemed as though Tapia had a very clear role on the roster.

At first glance, it's also strange for the Red Sox to place Tapia on waivers when infielders Pablo Reyes and Enmanuel Valdez are fringe players in the same position as Arroyo.

However, the move makes a lot more sense when the full picture is realized. Outfielder Adam Duvall is expected to return to the Red Sox on Friday, which meant an outfielder had to be sent down or placed on waivers this week anyway. Boston will almost certainly remove one of the aforementioned infielders to make room for Duvall. 

If this is the route taken by the Red Sox, that would mean outfielder Jarren Duran will have a chance to continue his breakout season. 

Tapia has been a serviceable role player who played well enough to remain on the roster but it does make sense to give the young former top prospect a chance to establish himself in the big leagues instead.

There's a good chance Tapia is claimed by an opposing team in the coming days but I'm sure he'd be invited to Triple-A Worcester should he clear waivers. 

More MLB: Red Sox's Masatake Yoshida Joins Ichiro Suzuki In Rarified Air With Impressive Start

Published
Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

Share on XFollow scottneville46
Home/Boston Red Sox News