Remembering the power of a promotion​

Aug. 20, 2013.

It was the day Xander Bogaerts made his major league debut, jumping into the Red Sox's lineup with the team kicking off a fork-in-the-road swing through San Francisco. He was 20 years old.

The Red Sox would lose that game against the Giants, with reliever Brayan Villarreal walking in the game-winning run on four pitches for his only appearance that season. (Yes, he ended up with more World Series rings than strikes thrown.) But after that? The eventual world champs would win the next nine games Bogaerts appeared in.

Two months and 10 days later, it was Bogaerts' No. 72 seen running in from third base to celebrate the final out of the Red Sox's win in Game 6 of the World Series.

Exactly 13 years after that big league debut, the Red Sox find themselves discussing the merits of introducing another 20-year-old infielder for a potential push forward. The Franklin Arias conversation isn't apples-to-apples and is far from the kind of no-brainer Bogaerts represented, but it does offer the same sort of intrigue and excitement.

The debate surrounding the Arias advancement stretches beyond just celebrating the anniversary of Bogaerts' promotion.

The good news? Despite being a secure 5 1/2 games up in the wild card standings, the Red Sox are coming off a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Diamondbacks, which now puts them 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the chase for that home-field advantage come Sept. 29.

Much like 2013 at this time of year, the Red Sox still find themselves on fairly firm footing. It was, after all, the first time in the last 15 chances this team had lost to a club with a record with a winning record. And they did end up with three home runs, losing for the first time when accomplishing such a feat since way back on June 10.

But also, as was the case 13 years ago, there is nothing wrong with a little Bogaerts-type nudge.

As was the case with the former Red Sox shortstop, Arias appears to be the perfect set of jumper cables despite his relative youth. He hasn't taken the foot off the gas since being promoted to Triple-A Worcester, totaling an .850 OPS with four home runs in 20 games while playing superb defense.

"I think number one is just how much they enjoy the game itself," Red Sox assistant GM Eddie Romero told WEEI.com when comparing Bogaerts and Arias. "It's not a business; like they actually like going out there and competing. And I think two, there's no big moment for them, whether that's you know a playoff start against Max Scherzer or coming in in the ninth and facing somebody like there's just an ability there to slow things down. That's very hard to teach, and and so I think I was actually just chatting with Xander the other day about how I saw some similarities between them two in in there the way that they went about things, you know. And I think Xander's a little bit more, you know, happy-go-lucky, a little bit silly. Franklin tends to be a little bit more more quiet, but once you get to know him and he opens up, it's it's in there. But those are mainly like the two things. They love to compete. And secondly, there's just no moment that's going to be too big for them. They're able to, whether it's through breathing or imagery or something, slow things down and stay within themselves in those big moments."

So, will we be doing this all over again?

While the Red Sox fully understand the impact that can undoubtedly be felt when a dynamic player like Arias is introduced, it's not as simple as when Bogaerts landed in San Francisco. For starters, the organization is fully aware of the risk that comes with putting MLB's No. 3 prospect on the 40-man roster to necessitate a big-league debut, a move that would prevent Arias from playing if/when there is a lockout next season.

And, truth be told, the Red Sox will likely be able to lean on more risk-averse promotions for their late-August kick in the pants. Trevor Story is on the doorstep of rejoining the big league club (coming away with two hits in his latest rehab game with Worcester on Wednesday). And Roman Anthony isn't that far away, either, homering in his first game action since early May.

Or maybe the late-season push is supplied by someone already in the mix, such as Mickey Gasper (who tied Wednesday's game with a three-run homer, marking the third consecutive game he has hit a home run).

There is also another piece of recent history that might give the Red Sox pause when it comes to an Arias promotion, remembering the disaster that came with calling on the then-No. 5 prospect in baseball, Yoan Moncada, to help fill a void at third base almost exactly three years after Bogaerts' MLB debut. That 21-year-old ultimately started just four games, striking out in 12 of his 19 at-bats, and failed to make the postseason roster.

Perhaps the idea of bringing in Arias is a luxury the Red Sox simply don't need.

But when you have put yourself in the position this team finds itself in, all options need to be explored. That's what it did back in 2013, and it seems to have worked out pretty well.