The Boston Red Sox are an offensive juggernaut this year, but with David Ortiz going on the DL, the lineup got a little weaker. Now more bad news for Boston, from the Boston Globe:
Kevin Youkilis Injury: Stiff Back Sends Red Sox Third Baseman To DL
The Boston Red Sox put third baseman Kevin Youkilis on the disabled list on Thursday, calling up Ryan Lavarnway.
@NickCafardo is reporting the #RedSox will DL Kevin Youkilis and call up Ryan Lavarnway today
Youkilis had been day-to-day with a stiff back, but it apparently wasn’t healing quick enough. Without Ortiz and Youkilis, the Red Sox’s offense has been downgraded from “juggernaut” to “still really, really, really good.”
Youkilis is hitting .266/.380/.481 this season, which is a bit of a down year for him, though still outstanding. He's been in a little bit of a slump in August (.209/.306/.442), possibly because of the back, or possibly because 43 at-bats is a ludicrously small sample. Whatever the reason, the Red Sox will make do with Jed Lowrie at third in Youkilis's absence.
Lavarnway is a 23-year-old C/DH, which is a defensive label that indicates he’s probably not vintage Pudge Rodriguez behind the plate. He is tearing up the minors, though -- hitting .301/.385/.608 with 16 homers in 209 at-bats since being called up to AAA -- so there’s a good chance he could see time at DH with Ortiz out.
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