BOSTON � Time finally ran out on Grady Sizemore.

BOSTON � Time finally ran out on Grady Sizemore.

The outfielder was designated for assignment on Tuesday, with third baseman Garin Cecchini promoted from Triple-A Pawtucket. The move came a few days earlier than anticipated, with Shane Victorino�s imminent return from the disabled list � perhaps at the start of next week � suggesting it was inevitable.

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�It was a really tough decision because of the person that he is and how much we think of him,� general manager Ben Cherington said. �We were certainly hoping and thinking that this would and could have turned out differently, and we were still hoping it would up until recently. It just got to the point where we didn�t think we could give it more time.�

Sizemore was the story of spring training, the former star looking more like his old self than like a player who had missed the previous two seasons � and large chunks of the two before that � due to injury. He made the team out of spring and was the starting center fielder on opening day, even hitting a home run at Camden Yards to boot.

For the first two weeks of the season, he was one of Boston�s most productive hitters, with a .343 average, .395 on-base percentage and two home runs.

But even then, the seeds of Sizemore�s demise had been planted when he proved unable to play center on a regular basis � not because of health, but because of defensive flaws. The Red Sox quickly settled on Jackie Bradley, Jr. as their everyday center fielder.

And then, over the last two months, Sizemore has struggled as much as anyone else in a Red Sox outfield that has been shockingly unproductive. From April 15 on, Sizemore batted .187 with a .263 on-base percentage. He had 10 extra-base hits in 167 plate appearances.

In 205 plate appearances for the season, he hit .216 with a .288 on-base percentage.

The Red Sox signed Sizemore in January as a kind of lottery ticket � an intriguing secondary option in center should the 31-year-old recapture a semblance of his old form. The experiment, which has been stalled for some time, was prolonged in large part by the rest of the outfield�s woes. Twice, he was kept over a demoted Daniel Nava. Now, Nava�s rejuvenation, Victorino�s imminent return and, perhaps more than anything, Brock Holt�s emergence as a leadoff hitter and super-utility player have left Sizemore as the odd man out. There simply wasn�t room for him to get at-bats anymore.

�He�s a little bit the victim of some things around him that are a little bit out of his control,� manager John Farrell said.

Both Farrell and Cherington made clear their respect for Sizemore and the work he�s done to return to the field.

�Grady Sizemore is about all the good things in this game, from his performance to the person he is, his work ethic, the way he plays this game,� Farrell said. �He�s an exceptional person, and this is a tough decision to part ways with a guy of his caliber. And though he�s trying to do something that I don�t know has been done in the game before, we commended him on his work ethic in trying to get back to the level previous.�

�It won�t surprise me if he is in the big leagues somewhere else this year. It won�t surprise me if he looks like a better player this year,� said Cherington. �We�ll be rooting hard for him.�

Cherington made it sound as if Sizemore has played his final game in the Boston organization. Even if he clears waivers, Sizemore would be wise to seek an opportunity elsewhere, since it doesn�t appear as if he has much of a shot of finding playing time still with the Red Sox. The GM said the move was made this early in the week out of respect to Sizemore, in the hope he could locate another major-league opportunity.

Signed to a $750,000 base salary, Sizemore earned an additional $500,000 in incentives.

Designating Sizemore is just the first of several roster moves the Red Sox will have to make in the next week or so. Victorino�s return will necessitate another move, perhaps the optioning of Jonathan Herrera to Pawtucket. Felix Doubront is ready to come off his rehab assignment, and Clay Buchholz is a start away from joining him. Boston has to decide how to juggle a rotation that has improved its performance since those two went on the DL. Brandon Workman�s potential suspension is another complicating factor.

Cecchini�s big-league stint figures to be short. He could be the corresponding move if Workman is suspended and the Red Sox need Doubront to start later this week in Oakland.

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