Kevin Boles joins Boston Red Sox Coaching Staff

Kevin Boles has a simple plan when he joins the Red Sox for three consecutive road series beginning this Friday night in Tampa Bay.
If somebody on John Farrell's coaching staff needs assistance, hop to it immediately.
"You're there to help out in any way they want. You definitely don't want to be a distraction or a disruption. It's a reserved role," Boles said. "It'll be fun to see the guys who have come through the system and get to watch them on the biggest stage in the world."

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 has become something of a time-honored tradition for Boles. This marks the fourth straight year that the 42-year-old will get to spend some quality time around the parent club following the completion of the 142-game minor-league slate.
Boles will join the Red Sox for three straight road series: September 15-17 in Tampa Bay, September 18-20 in Baltimore, and September 22-24 in Cincinnati.
Once again, the commendation comes after a transaction-driven Triple-A season. The PawSox were involved in 93 moves in the 52 days following the All-Star break and 217 total on the season.
Instead of tasked with the challenge of overseeing a PawSox clubhouse that at times has the feel of a conveyer belt, Boles will have the chance to lend a hand to major-league personnel. Naturally, he plans to absorb as much knowledge as he can with the understanding that it's for his benefit, too.
"Down here, we're obviously trying to mimic everything that they do. Maybe there's a way or an edge that you can pick up that helps you get through to a player next season so you can shorten the learning curve," Boles said. "It's a great experience where I'm watching the whole time. I'm watching how the dugout and the base coaches interact. I'm watching (Farrell's) interaction with (BoSox bench coach Gary DiSarcina). I'm evaluating the whole time as far as what adjustments we need to make at our level to help them so that when they get a player, it meshes to what they're trying to accomplish.
"It's about soaking up as much as possible."
What figures to enable Boles to make a seamless transition is that he will be setting foot in a Red Sox clubhouse that's populated with players who played for the PawSox at some point this season. Pawtucket sent 18 players to Boston, the list ranging from familiar names such as Deven Marrero and Brian Johnson and promising 20-year-old third baseman Rafael Devers, who Boles equated his brief nine-game as a smartphone that wasn't afforded the chance to fully charge.
"He came in with 30 percent on his iPhone. When he left, it had charged to 70 percent," Boles said.
When Boles does join the Red Sox in a temporary capacity, he doesn't want his former PawSox charges to still think of him as their skipper.
"When I go to the big leagues, I don't want them to think about the past. I just want them thinking about how they can win the game that night," Boles said. "It will be good to meet up with guys, but you also have to respect the fact you don't want to get in the way of that major-league staff. They have a job to do. Any help that they need, I'll be more than willing to help. But you know where your boundaries are. You have to have pretty good situational awareness on how to handle yourself."
Official word that more baseball coaching duties are in Boles' future upon the completion of Pawtucket's season was delivered by Farrell and Red Sox farm director Ben Crockett. As far as serving as an additional pair of eyes and ears for Farrell, Boles says he plans to make himself available the moment he reports to the ballpark, which he says could be quite early.
"There's a lot of things that go on up there that we do not have. That's why when you go up there, you have to try and learn as much as possible so you can tailor to what their needs are," Boles said. "When they get a player from us, we want the maintenance and the adjustments to be less."
Boles has a knack for timing his September stints perfectly. Two years ago, he was in the dugout when David Ortiz blasted the 500th home run of his illustrious career. Last year, he was on hand as the Red Sox applied the finishing touches to winning the American League East.
For the second straight year, he'll walk into an intense pressure cooker that comes with being a major-league team that's very much in the October baseball discussion.
"One thing you try to do is blend in," Boles said.
September call-ups were also bestowed upon PawSox hitting coach Rich Gedman and first-year trainer Eric Velazquez. Gedman's stint with the Red Sox will cover the final week of the regular season (Sept. 25 through Oct. 1) while Velazquez is already with the parent club.