Shaw declined an outright assignment to Triple-A Worcester and elected free agency Sunday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Shaw secured a spot on Boston's Opening Day roster but was designated for assignment Friday after going 0-for-19 with seven strikeouts to begin the campaign. The veteran infielder will hope to latch on elsewhere, but he'll likely need to settle for a minor-league deal given his .616 OPS and 29.8 percent strikeout rate over the past three seasons.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Shaw was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Friday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
The 32-year-old appeared in just seven games for Boston to begin the year, and he struck out seven times while failing to reach base in 19 plate appearances. Shaw will now be removed from the 40-man roster, and it's not yet clear whether he'll remain in the organization if he goes unclaimed on waivers.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Makes season debut
Rotowire
Shaw started at first base and went 0-for-3 in Monday's 3-1 loss to the Tigers.
Shaw slotted in for Bobby Dalbec with right-hander Matt Manning on the bump for Detroit. The lefty-hitting Shaw is not in a strict platoon with Dalbec, who started twice against righties in the season-opening series against the Yankees, but when Shaw does get into the lineup, it will be against a righty.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Secures roster spot
Rotowire
Shaw's contract was selected by the Red Sox on Thursday, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.
Shaw joined the Red Sox as a non-roster invitee and has secured what will likely be a bench spot in Boston. The last time Shaw finished with an above-average batting line was 2018, though he did post a 122 wRC+ in a tiny sample of 48 plate appearances for the Red Sox last year after struggling earlier in the season with the Brewers.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Breaks spring slump
Rotowire
Shaw went 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Thursday's spring training game against the Twins.
Shaw was 0-for-17 before coming off the bench for a fifth-inning single and eighth-inning double. The 31-year-old, who is a non-roster invitee, is the lone player in camp with extensive history at first base other than starter Bobby Dalbec. That appears to give him a decent chance to break camp on the MLB roster, but Shaw can opt out of his minor-league deal if he's not added to the 40-man roster by Saturday.
Shaw signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox on Friday that includes an invite to big-league camp, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
Shaw finished 2021 with the Red Sox after opening the campaign with the Brewers and hit .200/.286/.373 with nine home runs, 20 runs, and 39 RBI in 84 games between the two clubs. The 31-year-old will likely need a strong showing in spring training to have a chance of cracking Boston's Opening Day roster.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Belts ninth homer
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Shaw went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI in Saturday's 9-8 extra-inning win over the White Sox.
Getting the start at DH and batting eighth, he blasted a three-run shot off Dylan Cease as part of a seven-run third inning, then played hero in the top of the 10th by bringing home Alex Verdugo with a single. Shaw has been mainly a bench player for Boston despite all the team's recent COVID-19 absences, but he has started three of the last six games and is slashing .267/.333/.667 through 34 plate appearances in his return to the Red Sox with three of his nine homers on the year.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Losing work to Dalbec
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Shaw is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
The lefty-hitting Shaw's absence from the lineup comes as little surprise while the Rays bring a southpaw (Ryan Yarbrough) to the hill for the series opener. Though Shaw appeared to have emerged as the Red Sox's preferred option versus right-handed pitching, Bobby Dalbec's recent surge has resulted in Shaw sitting more regularly versus righties, too. Shaw's start in Sunday's 11-5 loss to Cleveland was his first since Aug. 28.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Sitting against lefty
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Shaw is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Rays, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.
Shaw finds himself on the bench for the third straight game with lefty Ryan Yarbrough pitching for Tampa Bay, though the slugger's previous two absences came against right-handed starters. Bobby Dalbec has been on a tear with a 1.658 OPS over his past seven games and appears to have taken hold of the starting job at first base, at least for now.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Sitting second straight game
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Shaw is not in the lineup Monday against the Rays, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Shaw finds himself on the bench for the second straight day despite a right-handed pitcher (Luis Patino) starting for Tampa Bay. Bobby Dalbec, who is 7-for-16 with three homers, two doubles, eight RBI and five runs in his past six games will start at first base Sunday.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Sitting versus right-hander
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Shaw is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Cleveland.
The lefty-hitting Shaw will get a rare day off against a right-handed pitcher (Eli Morgan), with manager Alex Cora instead rewarding the righty-hitting Bobby Dalbec with a turn in the lineup after he went 4-for-7 with two home runs, two doubles and seven RBI between his last two starts. Both Shaw and Dalbec are likely to see their opportunities take a hit soon, as Kyle Schwarber is gradually expected to receive more reps at first base after making his first start at the position Friday.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: On bench against southpaw
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Shaw isn't starting Friday's game against Cleveland, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Shaw will be on the bench for a second straight game since left-hander Logan Allen is starting for Cleveland. Kyle Schwarber will shift to first base while Yairo Munoz starts in left field.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Not starting Thursday
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Shaw isn't starting Thursday's game against the Twins.
Shaw drew starts in each of the last two games but will head back to the bench, even though right-hander John Gant is on the mound for the Twins. Bobby Dalbec will start at first base and bat ninth.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Plays 1B against righty
Rotowire
Shaw started at first base and went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored in Wednesday's 9-6 extra-inning loss to the Twins.
Shaw has started the last two games at first base, both against right-handed pitchers. Bobby Dalbec will start against lefties and occasionally face righties, but it appears Shaw will be the strong side of a platoon until such time that Kyle Schwarber is ready to play the field.
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Red Sox's Travis Shaw: Homers again
Rotowire
Shaw went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Tuesday against the Twins.
Shaw led off the bottom of the third inning with the homer, his eighth of the season. He's now gone yard in back-to-back games, though he didn't start Monday. Shaw's playing time is already limited by the fact that he will sit against left-handed pitching, though his struggles to find consistent plate appearances could only worsen due to the return of Christian Arroyo. If Arroyo takes over the primary duties at second base, Enrique Hernandez will likely shift to the outfield, which could in turn push Kyle Schwarber to first base -- Shaw's primary avenue to playing time.
Shaw went 1-for-2 with a walkoff grand slam in Monday's 8-4 extra-innings win over the Rangers.
He entered the game in the eighth inning after Bobby Dalbec was lifted for a pinch hitter and, after popping out in the ninth, Shaw got to play the hero when he hammered a 3-2 pitch from Dennis Santana into the right-field seats in the 11th. The veteran infielder has only picked up five at-bats since being claimed off waivers by Boston over a week ago, and even after Monday's walkoff blast, Shaw will likely struggle to find consistent playing time on a crowded roster.
