Andruw Monasterio Lock For Roster After Latest Red Sox Move
Andruw Monasterio Lock For Roster After Latest Red Sox Move originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Boston Red Sox acquired Andruw Monasterio in the Caleb Durbin trade, and he could be on the opening day roster.
Monasterio was originally a candidate to start in Triple-A, but an injury to Romy González paired with a very strong spring has opened the door for Monasterio to make the roster. He won't be starting, now that Marcelo Mayer has earned the second base job, but the Red Sox's latest move seems to indicate that Monasterio will be in the big leagues to start the year.
On Monday, the Red Sox announced that Nate Eaton was optioned to minor league camp. Eaton was expected to be a versatile defender that Alex Cora could deploy off the bench. However, Monasterio has seemed to take that role. He has experience playing third base, second base, shortstop, first base and left field in the big leagues.
However, his defense was not going to be enough to earn a spot on the team. He had to hit and hit he did. He slashed .300/.383/.425 with one home run and five walks in 17 spring training games. It's no surprise he hit well coming off his best season as a big leaguer last year.
For the Milwaukee Brewers , Monasterio played in 68 games last season. He slashed .270/.319/.437 with four home runs. He posted a career-high .755 OPS. He has thrived coming off the bench and manning multiple positions. He made it very difficult to keep him off the opening day roster this spring.
Nothing is official yet, but Eaton being optioned guarantees Monasterio will be on the opening day roster. If he plays well, the Red Sox will have a decision to make when González is healthy. Alex Cora spoke on the decision to take Monasterio on the roster over other utility options.
“A good athlete, versatile, a good at-bat against lefties,” Cora said of Monasterio, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo . “Little by little, we’ll get him introduced to the outfield but we know Izzy (Kiner-Falefa) can do that so we don’t have to push it.”
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