August 19, 2009 at 9:49 AM
Woodward assigned to Pawtucket, Ochoa released
After having designating him for assignment to clear room for the recently-acquired Alex Gonzalez, the Red Sox have assigned veteran infielder Chris Woodward to Triple-A Pawtucket. According to Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal, infielder Ivan Ochoa has been released to open a spot for Woodward on the PawSox roster. It had been something of a lost year for Ochoa, who had appeared in only 45 games due to hamstring problems, hitting .227/.340/.328 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs and 9 steals in 9 attempts in his 128 at-bats. Just 26 years old but already a veteran of 9 minor league seasons, the slick-fielding Ochoa departs owning a career line of .255/.340/.326 with 178 steals in 751 games played in the Cleveland, San Francisco and Boston systems. Woodward, who had gone 0 for 4 in five games for the Red Sox since he was claimed off waivers from Seattle on August 7, will reportedly be available for Pawtucket's doubleheader today against Rochester.