Kevin Boles to spend time on Boston's coaching staff

The time-honored tradition of seeing the manager of the Pawtucket Red Sox receive a "job well done" seal of approval in the form of a September call-up to Boston remains alive and well.

Kevin Boles is the latest to receive such a commendation following a transaction-driven Triple-A season that culminated with the PawSox's capture of the Governors' Cup.  

Boles will join Boston on Friday in Baltimore. Instead of being tasked with the challenge of overseeing a Triple-A clubhouse that at times has the feel of a conveyer belt, he will have the chance to lend a hand to the major-league staff.

Naturally, the 39-year-old plans to absorb as much knowledge as he can with the understanding that it's for his benefit, too.

"Spring training is one thing, but to watch the players during major-league games that count and how the coaches work together … I'm just going to try and soak everything in," said Boles after the 2014 Governors' Cup champs were honored Wednesday afternoon at a well-attended celebration outside McCoy Stadium.

"Hopefully I can have some conversations as far as what we can do better, (and) as far as what we are missing out on. You're always searching to develop that complete ballplayer. Obviously it's going to be an unfinished product when they get to the big leagues, but to just to shorten that learning curve, we're going to continue to search for that information."

The possibility of Boles joining Boston was bandied about prior to Pawtucket's deep and ultimately successful playoff run. An eye was cast toward the Red Sox' current three-city road trip through Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Baltimore, though thanks to the PawSox remaining alive, two of the MLB cities were scratched off the itinerary.

As far as serving as a temporary extra pair of eyes and ears for Boston manager John Farrell, Boles noted that nothing is guaranteed beyond this weekend. This will mark his first foray into a major-league setting since serving as a bullpen catcher over a decade ago with the Florida Marlins.

"It will be interesting to see the differences as far as how the Marlins were running it at the time (and) as opposed to way things are run now," Boles said. "It doesn't matter how many days; I'm going to take advantage of them."

What figures to enable Boles make a seamless transition is that he will be setting foot in a Boston clubhouse that's populated with players who represented Pawtucket at some point this season. Including the six PawSox that joined the Red Sox on Wednesday, 26 players presently on the Red Sox' active roster also suited up for the Pawtucket this year.

"Watching the guys who were in Pawtucket on the big stage, I can't wait for that," Boles said. "That's definitely everything."

Going a step further, Boles has a strong relationship with Torey Lovullo and Arnie Beyler, two current Red Sox coaches who at one time occupied the same PawSox manager's office.

"The advice that I got before I came here, I'm looking forward to hanging out with them for a little bit more time," Boles said. "I can't thank the Red Sox enough for (me) getting this opportunity."