Red Sox Designate Abraham Toro for Assignment, Recall David Hamilton from Triple-A

The Boston Red Sox designated infielder Abraham Toro for assignment Thursday, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic.

Across 77 games and 284 plate appearances, the switch-hitter slashed .239/.289/.371 with seven home runs and 27 runs batted in. His fWAR came in at -0.7.

It wasn't all bad for Toro, who entered play on June 13 hitting .330 with a 151 wRC+ and five home runs. However, he hit the wall hard, particularly from a power standpoint, slugging just .255 with two home runs in his final 185 plate appearances. He struggled particularly since the trade deadline passed, where the Red Sox didn't acquire a first baseman, hitting just .131 with a -1 wRC+ in 53 plate appearances.

His fWAR during that span was -0.7, tied with Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos for last among 188 qualified hitters.

The corresponding move returns middle infielder David Hamilton to Boston ahead of their four-game weekend series with the New York Yankees.

Hamilton has struggled between inconsistent playing time and results, posting a .174/.227/.265 slash line with a 32 wRC+ in 69 games in MLB this season. However, his defense at second base remains great, where he's tied for fifth with seven defensive runs saved despite being 37th in innings. 

His speed and baserunning is also super valuable, as he's top-60 in Base Runs (BsR) and in the 93rd percentile for sprint speed.

In nine games with Triple-A Worcester, Hamilton hit .282 with two home runs and six stolen bases. Perhaps with uncertainty surrounding the availability of outfielder Wilyer Abreu, the Red Sox are preparing for more Ceddanne Rafaela in center field, thus opening an opportunity up for Hamilton to play second base, despite his skillset overlapping a lot with fellow speedster Nate Eaton.