The Red Sox made a flurry of roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game, placing two infielders on the injured list and bringing a familiar face back to Boston.
Vaughn Grissom (right hamstring strain) and Romy Gonzalez (left hamstring strain) were both placed on the 10-day injured list, and right-hander Garrett Whitlock (elbow surgery) was transferred to the 60-day IL, opening a spot on the 40-man roster.
To fill those spots, the Red Sox recalled infielder Bobby Dalbec from Triple-A while adding infielder Jamie Westbrook to the active roster. Westbrook has never appeared in a big league game and will wear No. 73 in Boston.
Grissom was removed from Saturday’s game against Detroit in the second inning, and following the game manager Alex Cora indicated he’d be headed to the IL. Grissom previously suffered a hamstring injury in spring training and didn’t make his season debut until May 3. The 23-year-old, originally acquired in exchange for Chris Sale this past offseason, has been snakebitten since his arrival, suffering a groin injury in addition to the hamstring strain while also battling a bout of the flu right before he was originally scheduled to come off the IL in May.
Thanks in large part to those setbacks Grissom hasn’t been able to find his groove, and through his first 23 games he’s only managed to bat .148 with a putrid .367 OPS, no home runs and three RBI.
Gonzalez has also battled injury this season but has been productive off the bench in his limited action. The utility player is currently batting .257 while contributing at five different positions, primarily shortstop.
Dalbec has struggled in the majors this season, batting .132 with a 47.5% strikeout rate in 22 games, but he has been productive in the minors. In 26 games with the WooSox this season he’s batted .245 with eight home runs and 21 RBI.
Westbrook, 28, was originally a fifth-round draft pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks back in 2013 and has played 11 seasons in the minor leagues. This season he’s batted .267 with five home runs, 29 RBI and an .801 OPS for the WooSox. He’s primarily played third base but has also played second, first and right field this year.