Red Sox's demotion of maligned infielder should end his tenure in Boston

Earlier this week, the Boston Red Sox made a number of roster moves in a shakeup aimed at getting catcher Ali Sánchez on the roster.

However, lost in the fray of all that maneuvering was the demotion of David Hamilton, the utility infielder currently rocking a .174/.227/.265 slash line.

Despite his porous performance at the plate — his contributions add up to a 31 wRC+ this season, or 69% below the production of a league average hitter — Hamilton has managed to find his way into 69 games this season for the Red Sox, drawing nearly 150 plate appearances for Alex Cora's squad.

This demotion has been a long time coming, and it's clear that Hamilton's time in Boston should be at its end.

In fairness to the 27-year-old, Hamilton was never kept around for his bat. He's an elite sprinter who stole 33 bases last season, and his 17 steals this year (tied for third on the team with Ceddanne Rafaela) were a reminder that players can continue to positively contribute to a winning cause even when they aren't swinging a hot bat.

David Hamilton's struggles should keep him off Red Sox roster

On top of that, he's a versatile, if unspectacular defender. Most of his appearances (52) have come at second base this season, though he's also played innings at both shortstop and third base. He's been worth a grand total of zero Outs Above Average out in the field, though Defensive Runs Saved does enjoy his work at second, giving him seven DRS on the campaign.

Those skills — being a good baserunner and providing capable coverage at a myriad of positions — are valuable, but valuable enough to prop up the profile of a hitter who has a sub-.500 OPS this season? I think not.

Though he doesn't have enough at-bats to technically qualify, Hamilton ranks among the worst hitters in nearly every notable batted ball and plate approach metric. According to Baseball Savant, Hamilton would be in the bottom 10 percent among all MLB hitters in the following categories: expected wOBA, expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate.

In fact, the only metrics in which he grades out as "above average" are his chase and whiff rates, though perhaps he could stand to swing and miss a bit more often if it meant that he'd actually do damage when he makes contact with the baseball.

This isn't meant to suggest Hamilton has no MLB future. There is always a place for versatile chess pieces who can perform well as pinch runners.

But, eventually, there comes a point of diminishing returns in rostering a guy who simply can't hit the baseball at the major league level. With the Red Sox in a pennant chase right now — and hoping to be at this level for many years to come — hopefully we've seen the last of Hamilton in Boston.