BOSTON -- Just in case there was any ambiguity as to where manager John Farrell stands on the issue of whether the Boston Red Sox should call up top prospect Yoan Moncada for the stretch drive, Farrell made himself abundantly clear Wednesday.

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

In his strongest endorsement yet for bringing Moncada to the big leagues after rosters expand this week, Farrell indicated he would like to see the 21-year-old take over at third base at least against right-handed pitchers and likened the potential impact to that of former late-season call-ups Jacoby Ellsbury in 2007 and Xander Bogaerts in 2013 in the Red Sox's World Series-winning seasons.

"This is a different scenario than if it was July or the first of August, where you've got an alternate location to play," Farrell said. "The minor-league season ends. So, is there a benefit by him just being here? The answer to that is yes. I think, by all accounts, there's nothing but positive that can come out of experience here if that were to happen."

On that count, Farrell is absolutely correct. Now it's a matter of whether president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Mike Hazen are in agreement.

What Farrell knows, perhaps better than anyone, is that the Red Sox need help. They were 24-21 -- only slightly better than water-treading -- since the All-Star break entering Wednesday's matinee series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. On Friday, they begin a three-city, nine-game partial-West Coast trip, part of a final month of the season in which they will play 19 games away from Fenway Park. The bullpen is disorganized and the offense is averaging 4.9 runs per game in August, hardly a scoring drought but well below the season average of 5.4.

Clearly, the Red Sox need a jolt. And Moncada is electric.

In 400 at-bats between Single-A Salem and Double-A Portland, the switch-hitting Cuban infielder is batting .298 with 31 doubles, six triples, 15 homers, 45 stolen bases, a .411 on-base percentage and a .928 OPS. Eleven of his homers have come in 172 at-bats since a late-June promotion to Double-A. He has rebounded from an ankle injury that sidelined him for eight days earlier this month.

Oh, and did we mention that Moncada recently switched positions from his natural second base to third base, where the Red Sox just so happen to be getting the majors' third-worst production with a .706 OPS?

Travis Shaw was the feel-good story of spring training, beating out incumbent third baseman Pablo Sandoval. But the shine is officially off. Shaw struck out four times Tuesday night and is batting .189 with a .629 OPS and 36 strikeouts in 111 at-bats since the All-Star break. He already has lost playing time against left-handed pitchers, and when he doesn't play, Aaron Hill (.194 average, one homer, .512 OPS since being acquired in a July trade) isn't exactly lighting it up.

"We need better production," Farrell said. "I think if you were to ask any of those guys, they could concur."

It's little wonder, then, that Farrell has tried to move the Red Sox's internal discussions beyond the initial notion of using Moncada strictly as a pinch-runner and occasional pinch-hitter from the left side of the plate. (He's batting .314 with a .993 OPS left-handed compared to .171/.710 from the right side.)

Farrell receives daily reports from the minor leagues, and the dispatches from Portland manager Carlos Febles seem to indicate Moncada can be trusted at third base, especially with the guidance of well-regarded Red Sox infield coach Brian Butterfield.

"He has shown good range; he's got a well-above average arm," Farrell said. "Where there can be ongoing work and continued development is pretty much the same as when he was at second base, and that's the ball straight at him. That's more just pure technique and fundamental positioning of hands and feet. But as far as range to his glove side, moving over to third base, that has not seemingly been that big of a challenge for him.

If the Red Sox's decision-makers need to be talked into bringing up Moncada, Farrell has presented rookie left fielder Andrew Benintendi as a fresh example of the potential benefits. The 22-year-old was called up from Double-A at the beginning of August and took over in left field, another position of weakness. He batted .324 with six doubles, one triple, one homer, an .850 OPS and one homer-stealing catch before spraining his left knee last week and landing on the disabled list.

Call it the "Ellsbury Effect." As a September call-up in 2007, Ellsbury went 35-for-97 (.361) with three homers, eight stolen bases and a .927 OPS in the final 33 games, took over in center field for Coco Crisp during the AL Championship Series and helped lead the Red Sox to a World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies. Six years later, Bogaerts supplanted third baseman Will Middlebrooks in the ALCS and had some of the Red Sox's most memorable postseason at-bats.

Now it's Moncada's turn.

"[Red Sox] teams that have had success have always had an injection of young players late in the season that have helped carry a team to the postseason," Farrell said. "I think Yoan would be in a similar category of when Jake came to the big leagues, when Bogey came to the big leagues, and Benintendi is obviously already here. I wouldn't separate [Moncada] out from that comparison at all. In fact, he's a direct comparison.

"You've got a newness element to it. You've got likely above-average speed. You've got athleticism. You've got the unknown across the field of how does a certain team look to attack a given guy? In the cases we talked about, it has been advantageous to us or beneficial for the young player to come up."

How's that for a stump speech during election season?

Rosters can be expanded beginning Thursday. The Red Sox are idle, but when they open a three-game series Friday night in Oakland, it's likely relievers Joe Kelly and Heath Hembree will have joined them from Triple-A. Utility infielder Deven Marrero figures to be on the way, too, either by the end of the week or once the minor-league season concludes Monday.

At this point, it would be foolish if Moncada isn't far behind.