Red Sox activate Mike Carp, option Jonathan Herrera

May 25, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Mike Carp (37) at bat against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox will be adding one more potential power bat to their 25-man roster today as they have activated Mike Carp from the disabled list. Carp, an integral bench piece on the 2013 World Series winners, has struggled to date in 2014. Now fully healthy, however, he will try to right the ship and add some power to a depleted Red Sox lineup.

Carp is slashing only .214/.317/.286 this year, a far cry from the .296/.362/.523 line that he posted in 2013. However, there’s always the chance that he can get hot and carry a Red Sox lineup that currently ranks 26th in the league in runs scored. However, he largely profiles as a first baseman and left fielder, which limits his value on a team with Mike Napoli at first base and already a roster crunch in the outfield. Last year, Carp did hit an incredible .321/.441/.679 off the bench so it’s possible that John Farrell plans to use him more frequently in that capacity.

The big news in this transaction, however, comes with the demotion of Jonathan Herrera. One of few players that has stayed healthy throughout the year for the Red Sox, Herrera has served as the utility infielder since day one. However, his mediocre line of .233/.307/.289 coupled with the emergence of Brock Holt renders him relatively useless for the Red Sox, though he did go out with a bang, hitting a walk-off single on Saturday.

It’s obviously nice to have Carp back on the roster, but don’t expect his presence to change much. Realistically, he won’t play very frequently barring an injury to either Mike Napoli or one of the outfielders and even if he does play, the results have not been good so far this year. Then again, not many hitters would be able to turn around the way this season is going.