The Boston Red Sox will be activating Jacoby Ellsbury from the 60-day DL tomorrow, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Ellsbury hasn't played since the middle of April due to a dislocated shoulder that he suffered sliding into second base in a game against the Rays at Fenway Park.
It has been an absolute chore for the Red Sox this season without Ellsbury in center. Boston's center fielders are hitting just .243/.279/.325 with only four homers and four stolen bases. It's been a motley crew for Boston in center this year, with no less than ten players (including Ellsbury) getting time at the position. The best of the bunch has been Cody Ross, who has spent most of his season starting in left and right field.
2011 was a breakout year for Ellsbury. In addition to winning a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove, Ellsbury was the runner-up in the AL MVP voting to Justin Verlander, and amassed 9.4 fWAR while homering 32 times, stealing 39 bases, scoring 119 runs, and driving in 105 runs with a .928 OPS as Boston's leadoff hitter. If he can provide a fraction of that value to the team for the rest of the season, the Red Sox will be much improved over the final two and a half months of the year.
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