With the trade deadline roughly 18 hours away, the Red Sox made a move to upgrade an offense that had been sluggish since the All-Star break, adding slugger Kyle Schwarber from the Washington Nationals in exchange for minor league righthander Aldo Ramirez.
Schwarber, 28, is hitting .253/.340/.570 with 25 homers in 72 games — numbers fueled by a ridiculous June, in which he hit 12 homers in a 10-game span from June 19-29, tied for the big league record for such a stretch. He also set a record for most homers as a leadoff hitter in a calendar month with 15. He’s been on the injured list due to a hamstring strain since July 3, but is expected back soon.
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Schwarber has never played first base in the big leagues, but the Red Sox are open to see how he can handle the position. He’s also expected to see playing time in the outfield and at designated hitter.
Ramirez, 20, had emerged as one of the top half-dozen pitching prospects in the Red Sox system. With Low-A Salem this year, he had a 2.03 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 31 innings.
To make room for Schwarber on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox designated reliever Brandon Workman for assignment. Workman had a 5.46 ERA in 29 games this year with the Cubs and Red Sox.
Read more: Red Sox get sought-after reinforcements, but is Kyle Schwarber just the start?
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.