After riding the pine over his first couple of days in the big leagues, infielder Jeter Downs will get a chance Wednesday to show Red Sox nation what made him a highly touted prospect in three separate organizations' minor league systems. Downs was called up from Triple-A on Monday.
Downs said yesterday he last played third in high school.
— Jen McCaffrey (@jcmccaffrey) June 22, 2022
Carlos Febles:“Things we’ve talked about, now he’s getting it done & has put himself in the position where we can trust him to go out there and play in the infield for us, even if he has to play third for the first time.”
#RedSox tonight: Duran CF, Refsnyder RF, Martinez DH, Bogaerts SS, Verdugo LF, Story 2B, Vázquez C, Dalbec 1B, Downs 3B, and Wacha RHP (Apparently Bogaerts talked himself out of a day off.)
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) June 22, 2022
Downs was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round at 32nd overall in the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft. He was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a blockbuster deal that landed the Reds former All-Stars Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and Matt Kemp, as well as Kyle Farmer. Then in February 2020, the 23-year-old was traded to Boston in another monster move that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to Los Angeles.
Though he's slashed an abysmal .187/.281/.355 over 627 plate appearances at the Triple-A level in the last two seasons, Downs has shown solid speed and power, posting 25 home runs and 29 stolen bases over the period.
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