« Manny says he's the best defensive left fielder in Red Sox history
Main
Youkilis Player of the Week »
May 12, 2008
Right-hander Julian Tavarez has been designated for assignment to make room for Sean Casey on the roster.
The Sox now have 10 days to trade Tavarez, release him or outright assign him to the minors, an assignment Tavarez can veto because of his service time. Tavarez was the forgotten man in the Boston bullpen this season, appearing in only nine games, including a 1 1/3-inning stint against the Twins on Sunday night. He was 0-1 with a 6.39 earned-run average.
The move spared Craig Hansen an option to Pawtucket. The Red Sox have been impressed by Hansen's performances in Pawtucket this season, and have seen enough good things out of him in three outings with Boston over two brief periods with the big-league club to forego the easy move -- optioning him to the PawSox.
The roster move cuts the number of Red Sox pitchers to 12, adding to a position player to the very thin bench. Casey had been on the disabled list since April 26 because of a right hip strain. Casey was hitting .346 (18 for 52) when he suffered the injury.
Boston manager Terry Francona praised Tavarez for "saving us" last year when the team needed a starter and Tavarez gave the Red Sox three solid months in the role. But Tavarez had been reduced to a mop-up man in blowouts, and Francona thought other pitchers could help in other roles to win games, so Tavarez was designated and Hansen stays.
"The way Hansen was throwing had something to do with (the move). He's pitching well," said Francona. "We have a lot of confidence in Hansen. It may not have come down to one guy (or the other), maybe more of a philosophy than one guy, but we wanted to get Hansen up here last week."
Hansen said he was sorry to see Tavarez go, and that he was a bit surprised he wasn't on his way back to Pawtucket. But he's eager to stick around and show what he can do.
"In all honesty I thought I was going to be sent down. I thought they'd just use my option," said Hansen. "I was at lunch with Manny (Delcarmen) in the hotel and I saw Julian saying good-by to everyone, so I put two and two together and figured something happened to him. That's part of the game. I can't control that.
"I just have to try to keep pitching well," said Hansen. "I'll give myself a boost of confidence if I pitch well. I feel pretty strong. All of my pitches have been working."
In past seasons, it was Tavarez who served as a spokesman for Manny Ramirez when the Sox' slugging left fielder didn't want to talk. This afternoon, Ramirez was good-naturedly bemoaning Tavarez' departure in the clubhouse.
"They got rid of Julian," said Ramirez with a twinkle in his eyes. "They didn't ask me about it. What the (heck)?"
-- Steven Krasner
Posted by Steven Krasner 
at 3:10 PM | Permalink
