The Boston Red Sox are getting reinforcements at exactly the right time. Ahead of their game on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays, the team activated Wilyer Abreu from the injured list and designated Ali Sanchez for assignment.

Abreu hasn’t played since August 17, when he left a game early with a calf injury. The injury was originally thought to be minor, but the outfielder wound up missing over a month.

Despite two stints on the injured list this season, Abreu is second on the Red Sox in home runs, behind only Trevor Story. Boston has lacked home run power with he and Roman Anthony out, making Abreu’s return to the lineup a big addition.

Defensively, Abreu is excellent, but the Red Sox might limit him to designated hitter due to the nature of his injury. He’s hitting eighth as the DH on Sunday in the series finale against the Rays, but the outfielder isn’t worried about it.

“I feel strong. I feel good,” said Abreu. “So I’m ready to go.”

It’s worth noting that Abreu didn’t have time for a rehab assignment, so he’ll face major league pitching for the first time in game action. The Red Sox wouldn’t activate him if they didn’t think he was ready, but it could take time to find his timing.

Sanchez was called up as part of the September roster expansion, and didn’t get much game time. He appeared in three games, all as a defensive substitute. He received one at-bat over those three games and struck out.

While Sanchez didn’t make much of an on-field impact, he did allow Alex Cora to be more aggressive with his bench. The presence of a third catcher on the roster gave the Red Sox manager the remove his catchers from the game for matchup purposes. With only two catchers, Cora loses some flexibility.