Curtis Mead plunked into the middle of things for Red Sox

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Curtis Mead, the Red Sox’ first addition before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, made his team debut Monday night, batting second and playing second base in what would be a 4-2 victory over the host Athletics.

Read more Ceddanne Rafaela’s improbable grand slam leads Red Sox to win over Athletics

However, the night was cut short.

Mead was hit in the left hand by a fastball from the Athletics’ Jack Perkins in the fourth inn­ing, and was replaced in the fifth.

The Sox said the X-rays were negative.

Mead’s arrival, via trade with the Nationals over the weekend, made for some homework — fun homework — for interim manager Chad Tracy during the transcontinental flight Sunday.

How will the ripple effects of this trade affect the Red Sox?

“When you add another really, really powerful hitter into your lineup, it’s like, how can you do this as strategically as possible?” Tracy said in the visitors’ dugout at Sutter Health Park before the game.

Among the tentacles of the deal:

Pending further changes, Andruw Monasterio will be the everyday shortstop. The Sox sent Tsung-Che Cheng, who had been platooning with Monasterio, to Triple-A Worcester to clear a roster spot for Mead.

That leaves Monasterio as the only shortstop on the roster.

“It’s a seven-game road trip where I know we’re going to face at least three lefties, maybe four,” Tracy said, speaking of only this series and next [with the Dodgers]. “Mona was going to take the bulk of that duty anyways, and also knowing the way Mona’s performed against righties, it feels like for this week for sure that we could get through with that.”

Third baseman Caleb Durbin is the backup shortstop, per Tracy. Durbin dabbled there throughout his minor league career.

“If we needed to do something late in the game, I asked him, ‘Could you do it?’ He’s like, ‘Not a problem at all,’ ” Tracy said. “If you have to do anything late in the game, you can do it. But I think Durb’s range and his ability to field, he would be a logical candidate to finish a game there if we needed him to.”

Anthony Seigler, a spark plug as the second baseman and leadoff hitter for much of the Sox’ turnaround, will see his role “minimized some,” Tracy said. He goes from the lineup most days to the bench, without an obvious path to even semi-regular playing time.

“It’s going to be tougher. I talked to him about that, too, as far as regular playing time,” Tracy said. “The biggest thing when Curtis came was, OK, we know where he’s going to play [second base] . . . and Seigler’s been a really important piece of what we’ve done, so he deserved to be here. So we’ll find ways to pop him in there.”

This year, Seigler has played second and third, spots where the Sox have clear first-string choices. He also replaced Mead on Monday.

Seigler is down for whatever, though.

He is down for whatever, though.

“[Mead is] a great addition to the team. I want to win. I think we all want that at the end of the day,” Seigler said. “And him coming in and helping us and giving us more production — I mean, I’m all for it. So, like they said, I’m OK with the position that I’m in right now. Moving forward, whatever they need from me, I’m gonna do.”

Masataka Yoshida batted leadoff for a second game in a row Monday.

Tracy dropped Ceddanne Rafaela, who had been the No. 2 hitter, to fifth. A perk of that, the manager explained, is the freedom to try stealing more bases.

“There have been a number of circumstances just based out of need . . . that we’ve had him red-lighted as a runner because of who’s hitting behind him,” Tracy said, referencing Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras. “[Now, Rafaela] he gets on with some of the guys that play contact baseball behind him, he can be a little bit more active with his legs.”

Rafaela responded with a grand slam in the sixth inning, the first of his career.

Read more How new Red Sox slugger Curtis Mead learned to stop tinkering with his approach and started raking

Tracy also flipped Contreras (third) and Abreu (fourth), ensuring that Contreras — the Sox’ most productive hitter all year — bats in the first inning.

“Looked at it for a long time, but we have a powerful top half for sure,” Tracy said. “A lot of thoughts that went into that.”

Mead has been traded four times, including three times in the past year.

This time is different. Unlike when he was a prospect, or a bit part of a package, or recently cut, now he is a prize — a controllable hitter with the beginning of a potential track record, acquired at a significant cost in Connelly Early (a controllable pitcher with the beginning of a potential track record).

“It was unique,” Mead said. “I just remember speaking to my agent, just about the whole thing, and he was like, ‘This is a little bit different than when we were traded in March.’ It’s cool.”

Mead spoke glowingly of the first impressions of new teammates, which helped with what he called the “whirlwind” of the late-night trade Saturday.

“I remember kind of sitting down towards the end of the flight [from Boston on Sunday] after speaking to some guys and just feeling better about the situation,” he said. “Getting closer to the guys and creating those relationships is important.”

Early said Monday he was “a little bit shocked” when he was traded to the Nationals on Saturday night. Early received a call from chief baseball officer Craig Breslow around 10:30 p.m. Tracy called a few minutes later.

“Trace was excited for me, but also sad to see me go,” Early said. “It was a little bit emotional, having come up with that team.”

Early said he was excited to be playing for the team nearest to where he grew up in Virginia.

“I can have my grandparents come up here, and my parents will be here a lot. Having them close is super nice,” the lefthander said. “It’ll be kind of like when I was in college at UVa.”

Early was traded while on the injured list with elbow inflammation. He threw a few pitches in the bullpen Monday. He is expected to pitch in a minor league rehab game next week.

“The elbow feels really good,” Early said. “Everything is great.”

Early referred to Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni as “T-Bone” several times, a nod to the close relationship they had when Toboni worked for the Sox.

“Super excited to get here and have a couple of familiar faces,” he said. “Right after I got drafted, I got to meet him. Always had him along the side.

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(Peter Abraham of the Globe staff contributed to this report.)