Red Sox prospect Sam Travis makes Major League debut

One of the top prospects in the Boston Red Sox system makes his major league debut tonight, as Sam Travis is in the lineup at first base.

It’s official – the Sam Travis era has begun for the Boston Red Sox.

Boston made the surprising move to call up Travis on Tuesday to replace pitcher Hector Velazquez, who was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. Now Travis will get his first taste of big league action.

The No. 3 prospect in the organization will make his major league debut Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers. Travis will hit seventh in the lineup and play first base.

Travis is having a solid season, hitting .286/.353/.452 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 33 games with Pawtucket.

His arrival means that the left-handed Mitch Moreland will take a seat against southpaw Martin Perez. The plan entering the season was for Moreland to platoon at first base with Hanley Ramirez manning the position against lefties, but shoulder issues have limited Ramirez almost exclusively to the designated hitter role. Moreland’s strong play combined with a lack of suitable alternatives at first base has led to him appearing in a team-high 43 games this season, so the addition of Travis to the roster allows manager John Farrell to give the veteran a breather.

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It remains to be seen how much playing time Travis will be given with Moreland playing well. He’s even held his own against lefties, so a strict left-right platoon may not even be warranted. Tonight seems particularly odd timing considering that left-handed hitters have roughed up Perez to the tune of a .385 average and .953 OPS this season.

The Red Sox won’t face another left-handed starter until their next road trip begins on Monday, so apparently they couldn’t wait that long to get Travis in the lineup.

After a cold spell to begin the season, Boston is averaging a league-high 5.7 runs per game in May. There doesn’t seem to be a pressing need to bolster the offense and no obvious spot for Travis to find consistent at-bats. Planting the rookie on the bench to serve as roster depth does his development no favors, which leaves us to wonder if his call up will be short lived. After a quick cup of coffee in Boston, it could be back to Pawtucket where playing time will be plentiful.

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Whether or not Travis sticks around will depend heavily on how he performs. He’s been solid in Triple-A, but has a mere 299 at-bats to his credit at that level after missing the bulk of his 2016 season due to an ACL injury.

The expectation was that we wouldn’t see Travis in Boston before September, yet here we are about to witness his debut over three months ahead of schedule. Dave Dombrowski has been aggressive moving top prospects through the system before. It worked wonders for Andrew Benintendi last year, although not so much for Yoan Moncada.

Signing Moreland to a one-year deal suggested they organization would preach patience with developing their first baseman of the future. It took less than two months for the team to scrap that plan and call up Travis, which could be an indication that the front office is feeling the pressure of a lackluster season that puts everyone on the hot seat.

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Are the Red Sox taking a huge risk by rushing Travis or is the 23-year old ready for this stage? We’ll begin to answer that question by seeing how he handles his debut tonight.