Ahead of Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the Kansas City Royals, the Boston Red Sox offense got a massive boost as the team activated All-Star first baseman Willson Contreras from the 10-day injured list. Contreras landed on the 10-day injured list ahead of the Red Sox' Labor Day win over the Los Angeles Angels with a left hamstring strain. 

Contreras’ return to the lineup comes after spending Friday and Saturday night in Portland with the Double-A Sea Dogs for a quick rehab assignment to get him back into game action before returning to the big leagues. In two games against the New York Mets’ affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Contreras went 2-for-7 with a pair of RBIs. Now, Contreras will return after just 13 days on the injured list. 

The return of the All-Star first baseman comes at a perfect time for the Boston offense as they had struggled mightily in his absence, ranking in the bottom half of baseball in runs scored (50, T-18th), batting average (.240, T-17th), on-base percentage (.311, 20th) and weighted runs created plus (101, 15th). The 34-year-old first baseman is having one of the best seasons of his 11-year career, hitting .274/.384/.516/.900 with a career-high 26 home runs in 125 games. 

To make room on the active roster for Contreras, the team placed utility man Anthony Seigler on the 10-day injured list with right wrist inflammation. 

It will be a brief return to the big leagues for the 27-year-old utility man, who was recalled on Friday after the team placed Eli White on the injured list with a right foot ligament injury. Seigler got the start at second base in Saturday afternoon’s win over Kansas City, but exited in the seventh inning after showing visible discomfort after fouling off a pitch during his at-bat in the bottom of the sixth. In 49 games at the big-league level, the former first-round pick of the New York Yankees has hit .247/.327/.400/.727 with three home runs and 12 doubles. 

Contreras will hit fourth and play first base as the Red Sox look to win a series against Kansas City on Sunday afternoon as they wrap up the penultimate home stand of the regular season. Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.15 ERA) will get the start for Boston opposite fellow young left-hander Noah Cameron (9-8, 3.93 ERA) for Kansas City. The Red Sox recently announced that the game would begin with a rain delay as storms sweep through the Boston area.