Red Sox Claim Travis Denker

The Red Sox claimed second baseman Travis Denker off waivers from the San Diego Padres; the Padres nabbed him from the San Francisco Giants last year.

Denker, 23, has a .243/.333/.486 line in 37 at-bats with the Padres this year. It was his major league debut, and TSN.ca says he is "a true gamer with some pop in his bat, decent speed and pretty good plate discipline. Has solid gap power."

His flaws are that he "needs to improve with the glove if he has any chance of becoming an everyday player."

He is a career .276/.375/.455 minor league hitter. I would expect him to replace Gil Velazquez as the backup infielder.