Marrero demotion made as ‘a situational move’
PHILADELPHIA — All around him, teammates were getting into uniform and getting ready for a game. Deven Marrero was getting into a collared shirt and getting ready for another trip to the minor leagues.
What made this demotion different: Marrero didn’t necessarily deserve it.
Before last night’s game, the Red Sox wanted to call up a fresh arm for their overtaxed bullpen, and Marrero was one of the few guys with options remaining. He drew the short straw and was sent back to Pawtucket to make room for Hector Velazquez as a long man.
“This isn’t a matter of what someone has done,” manager John Farrell said. “It’s more the need on the pitching side of things.”
Two weeks ago, Marrero was the Red Sox’ everyday third baseman, and Farrell often gave him credit for solidifying the infield defense and helping spark the team’s best stretch of the season.
Granted, the offensive production was extremely limited with a .157 batting average, but his .497 OPS was more than 100 points higher than it had been Triple A earlier this season. And during the second half of May, when Pablo Sandoval was hurt and Marrero started at third base for 17 games in a row, he had a hit in 10 of those games.
He wasn’t a particularly good hitter by any measure, but he was more consistent and more productive than he’d been in the minors. And with his defense, the Red Sox found Marrero to be a reliable option, which is more than they might have expected based on his minor league production.
“You want to win in Triple A,” Marrero said. “But it’s more that you want to put up good numbers to get up here and stay up here. But when you get up here, it’s all about winning, and it’s all about grinding it out. It’s all about (taking advantage of) that one pitch, and stuff like that. Down there, sometimes I just feel pressure to put up numbers to get up here. That shouldn’t be the case.”
Marrero said he will focus on continuing to trust the process during this stint in the minors.
He’s already an elite fielder, but with shortstop occupied by Xander Bogaerts — Marrero did not play a single inning at shortstop during this big league stint — he’ll have to keep honing his versatility and proving he can chip in at the plate and on the bases to earn this big league utility role once again.
For the first time in a long time, the Red Sox got a good look at their former first-round pick and came away with a positive reaction that he can be helpful on this roster.
“The role for Deven is more defined given our roster the way it stands today,” Farrell said. “This was a situational move, not based on performance. These are the tough ones to deliver that message. He understood it, as he’s understanding his role. His ability to stay prepared, enter games late in whatever capacity, he’s been very good at.”
After scattered opportunities in 2015 and ’16, this was Marrero’s first extended chance on the big league roster, and he did enough good things to leave a positive impression. Not enough to keep himself from being the odd man out yesterday, but perhaps enough to settle in at the top of a thin infield depth chart, with another opportunity just around the corner.
“Whenever my name’s called, just be ready,” Marrero said. “Defensively. Offensively. Baserunning. Whatever it is, man. I don’t really look at one specific thing that I do. I look at a lot of things that I can do. Whenever they need me, I step up and be ready for it.”