Red Sox Prospect Watch: More promotions shake up MiLB scene
By Hunter Noll
BALTIMORE, MD – JULY 23: Brandon Workman #44 of the Boston Red Sox pitches to a Boston Red Sox batter in the eighth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 23, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
The Boston Red Sox minor league system saw some drastic changes this week thanks to plenty of promotions. So far they’ve yielded strong results.
The minor league system for the Boston Red Sox saw plenty of shake-ups over the last week. A lot of this had to do with trades and injuries.
For the Major League team, Brandon Workman was brought back into the mix when Chris Sale landed on the disabled list. Meanwhile, a Blake Swihart injury brought Dan Butler up for the first time this season.
An Ian Kinsler DL-stint also meant the Red Sox would need to recall an infielder. Tzu-Wei Lin was admittedly probably the first choice, but an injury of his own kept that from happening.
This meant that Tony Renda got the call. Renda deserved it, as he was tearing the minors up this season. After hitting .371 in Double-A, the 27-year-old had a .333 average in Triple-A.
So far, Renda hasn’t seen much of the field. His only appearance to date will be a memorable one for everyone involved though. Renda pinch-ran for Sandy Leon in the bottom of the 10th inning on Monday night against the New York Yankees. He then came around to score the winning run on the Andrew Benintendi walk-off single to complete a four-game sweep.
Renda probably won’t get all-that-many at-bats, but he deserves at least a few. He’s been exceptional all year at the plate, and the Red Sox have had problems at second base this season. With Kinsler and Rafael Devers both out, Boston has been relying heavily on Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt. Why not give Renda a shot while he’s still in the Majors? Maybe he can continue his hot hitting.