Tazawa Among Red Sox September Call-Ups

By KC Downey in News, Red Sox ⋅ September 2, 2009 at 6:07am ⋅ Post a comment

The Red Sox called up five players from the minor leagues Tuesday, the first day that rosters expand. Junichi Tazawa, George Kottaras, Chris Woodward, Brian Anderson, and Joey Gathright will be joining the Red Sox for the September stretch run.

Junichi Tazawa, SP

Tazawa was sent down to Single-A just to make room for Paul Byrd’s spot start against the Blue Jays on Sunday. Tazawa will start Saturday, while Byrd will start on Friday.

George Kottaras, C

Kottaras was activated from the 15-day disabled list and will serve as the team’s third catcher for now. If/when Tim Wakefield returns, Kottaras will take over as the knuckleballer’s personal catcher.

Chris Woodward, INF

You may recall that Woodward was designated for assignment early in August to make room for Alex Gonzalez. Well, he accepted that assignment and now will return to the Sox for September. The team did not bring back Jed Lowrie because he still is feeling discomfort in his wrist.

Brian Anderson, OF

The Sox traded Mark Kotsay to the White Sox for Brian Anderson earlier this year, and eventually sent him down to make room on the roster. He can play all three OF positions and will be used as a defensive replacement.

Joey Gathright, OF

Consider Gathright this year’s Dave Roberts, according to the Globe’s Adam Kilgore. Gathright is lightning-fast, and will be used as a late-inning defensive replacement as well as a pinch runner. The Sox recently acquired Gathright from the Orioles.