the 2011 season represented, in many ways, the most satisfying of Sutton’s big league career, his first opportunity to contribute to a contender.

“Baseball-wise, it was probably the funnest year I’ve ever had,” said Sutton, who had previously shuffled between the Astros, Reds and Indians organizations. “If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that I would have gotten two and a half months with the Red Sox, played as much as I did, I would have taken it. It was a lot of fun when ...