Red Sox Clear Roster Spot for Curtis Mead with Demotion
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The Boston Red Sox surprised their fanbase overnight Saturday into Sunday by trading Connelly Early for Curtis Mead.
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Mead, an infielder with an .852 OPS from the Washington Nationals, didn't play in Sunday's Red Sox series finale against the Blue Jays at Fenway Park.
He hadn't been officially added to the roster yet.
That move was slated for after Sunday's game, and it required sending a different infielder down to Triple-A Worcester to make room.
The demotion will be Tsung-Che Cheng, the shortstop with impressive glovework, according to MassLive's Chris Cotillo.
MORE: Why the Red Sox were willing to trade Connelly Early
The Red Sox were heading west immediately after playing Toronto on Sunday. They play a four-game set in Sacramento against the Athletics.
Mead will join them for that trip, while Cheng remains back in New England.
The move actually has fascinating roster implications once defensive positions are accounted for.
With no Cheng, the most natural shortstop on the roster who is healthy right now is probably Andruw Monasterio.
The Red Sox have also discussed the idea of Caleb Durbin taking reps at shortstop to give him that versatility. He might need to start doing that immediately.
Mead is a worse fielder than Durbin, so he wouldn't move to short. Anthony Seigler has never played shortstop at the professional level, either.
Boston is likely counting on a return sooner rather than later from Trevor Story, or maybe hoping that Franklin Arias hits his way into a promotion to MLB.
The Red Sox could also keep the trading mojo going and get a shortstop, but no such move has been made yet.
For now, Boston is a bit thin at that position, but Mead has arrived to boost the batting order.