Red Sox recall Tzu-Wei Lin from AAA with Xander Bogaerts hurt

The Red Sox have recalled infielder Tzu-Wei Lin to provide middle infield depth until Xander Bogaerts returns. Bogaerts sprained his finger sliding into 2B.

Xander Bogaerts slid awkwardly in last night’s game, rolling over his left hand and sprained his index finger. While not bad enough to land immediately on the disabled list, the Red Sox do feel the need to give him some time to heal. Enter Tzu-Wei Lin, Pawtucket’s shortstop, to fill the temporary gap. Lin is hitting .299/.350/.445 with 4 HR in the International League. This will be his second stint at the major league level this season.

Some of you will remember Tzu-Wei Lin from the 25 games in which he posted a 94 wRC+ last season. He is a plus defender without a lot of pop. But he makes contact consistently and has enough speed to make infield ground balls tricky for opposing infielders. His short stint earlier this season included a .188/.278/.250 slash line with a .240 BABIP. Expect him to perform a little better this time around.

What about Bogaerts?

The news on Bogaerts is that he is currently day-to-day and should be back in the lineup soon. That said, after an extremely hot start in 2017, the young shortstop was hit on the wrist by a pitch from Tampa’s Jake Faria. While it didn’t put him on the DL, he did hit just .232/.321/.340 the rest of the way. Hopefully this isn’t as serious and Bogaerts will get back to being the significantly better than league average hitter he is after a week or so.

Next: Red Sox: Is it time to move on from Blake Swihart?

Bogaerts has taken a step foward this season with his power numbers, boasting a .508 SLG and a .229 ISO. Both are career highs. Keep checking back for updates on his condition!