Danny Valencia: Right place at the right time

Danny Valencia spent a week in the minors and is now starting at third base for Boston after rookie Will Middlebrooks, whose rise was the reason Kevin Youkilis was traded to Chicago, broke his wrist Friday night.

Valencia was on the field in Cleveland by Saturday night and has started two games, getting his first hit Tuesday in nine at-bats.

After passing on the chance to talk to Twin Cities media about his trade (for a low-level minor leaguer), Valencia told Comcast SportsNet New England: “It’s nice to be able to start over and have a clean slate. It’s great to come and try to help a team that’s right in the middle of a playoff push. It feels good. It was definitely a rough April for me. They had guys come in and do a great job and there was no room for me anymore. But I’m over here now and it’s worked out for me. So that’s nice.”

The Red Sox blog Over the Monster concluded about Valencia: "If he leans closer to his prospect potential than the career he's actually had, consider it a gift from Red Sox scouting.


(startribune.com)