Mike Cameron Designated For Assignment, Vows ‘I’ll Be Back’

By KC Downey in Featured, Red Sox ⋅ July 1, 2011 at 1:29am ⋅ Post a comment

Mike Cameron (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

In one of the worst signings in Theo Epstein’s tenure, the Red Sox have finally cut ties with veteran outfielder Mike Cameron, designating him for assignment on Thursday. Assuming no one claims him on waivers, the Red Sox will be on the hook for the rest of his $3.6 million salary this season.

“I need to sort some things out,” Cameron told the Globe. “But if all goes as planned, I’ll be back playing. I haven’t played much this year. Rest assured I’ll be back. People think Father Time has got me. But it wasn’t Father Time. It was not getting much of a chance to go out there and run around and play. It was a new experience [in Boston], but it’s all good.”

Cameron and Darnell McDonald represented the team’s right-handed option in the outfield (Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew are all lefties), but both players have combined for only 20 hits all season long. Cameron hit just .149 this season with 3 HRs and 9 RBI.

In his place, the Red Sox called up infielder Yamaico Navarro. An injury to Kevin Youkilis’s foot forced Epstein’s hand, as he needed to make a corresponding roster move to ensure the team wouldn’t be shorthanded in the infield moving forward.