Boston Red Sox: Carl Crawford's Return Should Bolster Team in Second Half

The Boston Red Sox announced Sunday that Carl Crawford will see his first sliver of game action since going on the disabled list June 18.

He will put in a two-game rehab appearance for Triple-A Pawtucket.

Crawford will suit up for the middle portion of the PawSox four-game set versus the Durham Bulls, which begins promptly following the All-Star Break this Thursday.

Once he is through with that, he will reportedly resume Major League action next Monday, precisely one month to the date of his hamstring injury.

Up to this point, the Red Sox have made all the right moves in bringing their first-year acquisition back to game-day shape. They have kept him active enough to repel any threat of rust while ensuring his ailment does not worsen.

Now, if all goes according to plan, Crawford and the Red Sox will restore normalcy with 69 games still to come in the 2011 regular season.

This will mean reinserting a veteran outfielder with a little to build upon and still quite a bit more to prove as a member of a tradition-laden team jockeying for the American League East pennant.

At this point, Crawford’s .243 batting average is easily on pace to set a new low in his 10-year career.

His worst finish in that category was a .259 median as a rookie for Tampa Bay in 2002. His current slugging percentage of .384 surpasses only the .371 and .362 marks he made as a Devil Ray in 2002 and 2003, respectively.

Suffice it to say, there is time for Crawford to improve his first impression in Boston, but the Sox hired him to do a little more than that.

On the other hand, despite missing 23 of the first 90 games, Crawford enters the All-Star Break third on the Red Sox stolen-bases leader board with eight swipes.

His base-running value is evidenced further by his team-leading four triples. That’s more than any of the six Boston batters who have appeared in more games and/or accumulated more at-bats on the year. And Crawford’s collection constitutes a jutting 19 percent of Boston's 21 total triples.

On the other side of the ball, Crawford’s veteran presence will bring natural refreshment back to the outfield. Over 67 games in left field, Crawford has logged a .985 fielding percentage on the year.

In the attempt to fill the recent void, Darnell McDonald maintains a .963 fielding percentage in 17 games in left. When he hasn’t been there, Josh Reddick has run up an identical .963 average over 16 games in that position.

Not exactly poor substitutes, but Crawford’s comparative desirability is noticeable enough. Not to mention, McDonald and Reddick are both flexible enough to play right field as well, meaning Crawford’s return only adds depth and another option in the event that J.D. Drew warrants a benching.

Think manager Terry Francona would roll the dice on McDonald and Reddick sandwiching Jacoby Ellsbury for the better part of a game if he didn’t have to?

And the outfield leeway that will come back with Crawford should be all the more refreshing in the not-too-distant wake of Mike Cameron’s necessary discharge.

On a personal front, Crawford might even rejoin the club with added incentive to ensure general manager Theo Epstein does not similarly grow to second-guess the seven-year pact they made with one another.

In turn, he should give the Red Sox a can’t-hurt shot in the throwing arm and a bonus step within the base paths as they strive for a return to the playoffs.