ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — At least the Boston Red Sox had their health.

Despite a rough start in the standings, where the Sox were 7-13 entering Saturday, they could at least claim good health, having only lost their second basemen and one pitcher to injuries while otherwise looking strong, particularly when compared to the beat-up New York Yankees.

But the Sox unexpectedly put Nathan Eovaldi on the 10-day injured list Saturday retroactive to April 18 with a loose body in his throwing elbow.

Eovaldi has had elbow problems, with multiple Tommy John surgeries, his most recent keeping him out for the 2017 season.

On March 28 of last year, it was announced that Eovaldi needed arthroscopic surgery to clean up loose bodies in his elbow. He was out two months, then made his debut on May 30, throwing six no-hit innings. He finished 2018 with a 3.81 ERA in 111 innings.

He signed a four-year, $68 million contract with the Red Sox in the offseason.

• The Red Sox summoned their top position player prospect, Michael Chavis, from Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday with the idea it would be a short-term solution.

He’s not yet ready to be the everyday second baseman, the Sox believe. But they’re going to give him a chance to prove them wrong.

Chavis, 23, the 26th overall draft pick in 2014, will play mostly first and third base in his first stint in the majors, Manager Alex Cora said.

Tzu-Wei Lin also was recalled and will play second base while Dustin Pedroia (knee), Eduardo Nunez (back) and Brock Holt (eye) remain on the injured list.

“We’ve got Lin and he’s going to play a lot,” Cora said. “I know (Thursday) somebody asked me about Michael on the radio and I said this is a work in progress. But this is the big leagues. When you need somebody, you need somebody. He’s been making the routine play at second base. We’ll work with him to turn double plays. He can play first, third. He can hit. He’s a right-handed bat that can help us out.

“Most likely Lin will play the majority of games at second but we’ll find ways to get Michael at-bats. He’s swinging the bat well. And far, from everything I’ve read. Happy for the kid that he’s a big leaguer. Hopefully he can make an impact like he did in spring training.”

Chavis was a shortstop in high school but transitioned to third base in the minor leagues. He also began playing first base in the 2017 Arizona Fall League and split time at the corner infield positions last year, when he hit .298 with a .919 OPS in 46 games between three levels after returning from a suspension due to performance-enhancing drugs.

This year he’s played five games at second, six at third and one at first base with Pawtucket, where he had a .954 OPS and four homers in 12 games.

The Sox are looking at Chavis as a short-term solution until others are ready to return from the injured list.

“We think he can play second but hasn’t played there enough,” said Dave Dombrowski, the president of baseball operations. “The feeling when we saw him in spring training, a lot depends on the future with our club and how we shape up … You can never tell. Guys come up and he’ll have the ability to play some. We’re short on infielders. And he can hit. We’re not bringing him up with the anticipation it’s long-term but if he earns it, by all means. I think it’s a good experience for him.”

• Nunez tried playing through his back injury due to the Red Sox needs at second base, but it became too much for him and the team placed him on the injured list Friday. He was hitting just .159 with a .360 OPS.

“Just his back, middle of his back, it’s been going on for two days,” Cora said. “We tried to give it two days, then he has to play. It’s offensively where it’s bothering him. It’s very rotating right now. There’s not much he can do. There was a game at home basically he even tried to bunt in a weird position with a man on third and two outs, whatever. People are like, ‘what is Alex doing? This guy is nuts.’ Basically it’s like, let’s make something happen. There was another at-bat where he actually predetermined not to swing and ended up walking. There was another one that he felt he could swing and it was a bad slider.

“He’s been fighting it but it gets to a point where it’s like, stay away from it, get better, come back, work on your swing, get a few at-bats and hopefully when he comes back he’s the same guy we saw in spring training, straight to the ball and very explosive.”

The Sox have played with a short bench all week, starting Monday, when they had to use Christian Vazquez at second base.

• Holt, dealing with a scratched cornea in his right eye, is due to resume his minor league rehab assignment Monday in Pawtucket.

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