Shaw 'excited, grateful' for return to Red Sox

NEW YORK -- Travis Shaw put his Red Sox uniform on for the first time in five years and he felt like it still fit well.

Shaw was designated for assignment by the Brewers on Sunday while finishing up a Minor League rehab assignment, and he was quickly scooped up by his original team the following day.

Wearing No. 23 rather than No. 47 in this go-round, Shaw was not in the lineup for Game 1 against Yankees lefty Jordan Montgomery, but he started Game 2, batting ninth and playing first base against righty Luis Gil. He went 0-for-2 in the Sox's 2-0 nightcap loss; Boston also dropped the first game, 5-3.

“I’m excited,” said Shaw. “This is obviously where my big league career began. Grateful for the opportunity that they gave me, claiming me off of waivers the other day, and super excited to be here, and hopefully, can contribute some good things down the stretch here.”

Shaw dislocated his left shoulder trying to make a diving catch for the Brewers on June 9.

“Health-wise, I feel really good. [My] rehab assignment went really well, no issues, really, with the shoulder that I can feel right now,” said Shaw. “All good with the swing, all good with everything else. All in all, I can’t complain at all, and just really excited to be here.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora thinks Shaw can add a new dimension to the roster.

“It gives us a veteran at-bat off the bench when they start with lefties,” Cora said. “We can mix and match. Obviously, it’s a more experienced at-bat than Franchy [Cordero], and we’ll start him against certain righties. We like the fact that [Shaw] also can control the strike zone. It makes us a more complete unit and it gives us as a staff the option to pinch-hit for certain righties, just to be creative and get the opposition to think a little bit. That’s the reason he’s with us.”

For Shaw, it was a somewhat different feeling coming back to the Red Sox and seeing so many new faces.

Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes, Christian Vázquez and Eduardo Rodriguez are the only four players who remain from his original tour of duty with the club in 2015-16.

“For me, it’s another opportunity to get to the postseason. It’s a second life for me this year,” Shaw said. “The Brewers DFA'd me, and I’m just thankful for the chance to play again and show that I’m healthy. Just going to try to contribute in any role that I can here down the stretch. Hopefully we make it into October and make a little bit of a run.”

Duran’s role?
With Kyle Schwarber and Shaw now on the roster, and Christian Arroyo not far off from returning from a Minor League rehab assignment, it’s fair to wonder how often Jarren Duran will be in the lineup going forward.

Duran had been playing against all righties and some lefties since his call-up from the Minors a month ago. He hasn’t been able to gain consistency at the plate, putting up a slash line of .215/.232/.367 with two two doubles, two triples, two homers and eight RBIs. He has one stolen base in two attempts.

The speedster wasn’t in the lineup against a righty on Sunday and sat against lefty Montgomery in Tuesday’s opener.

“He’s still going to play,” Cora said. “We’re still going to find ways to play him. It’s more about the 26-man roster. For a while, it felt like we were short with guys struggling, guys limping, guys being hurt. Now, it feels like our roster is a lot stronger than a few weeks ago, than a few days ago. We have more options and we will add more options to the equation.”

Coaching reinforcements
First-base coach Tom Goodwin was back with the Red Sox on Tuesday for the first time since Aug. 6. Goodwin had been quarantining in Toronto the last couple of weeks after he was identified as a close contact of Boston bench coach Will Venable, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 7.

Venable could join the Red Sox later on Tuesday. There’s also a chance he’ll go back to Boston and be back on the field for this weekend’s series against the Rangers. Cora said one more step was required for Venable before he can be back in uniform.

“This is more than baseball. Being in a [hotel] room for two weeks, just watching TV and getting room service without walking around and breathing fresh air? It has to be very uncomfortable,” said Cora. “Hopefully he gets here tonight.”