It's one of the ways the Sox are going to "change the game." La Russa, no matter what people think of him, is going to use what he has on the roster to do things that people wouldn't necessarily expect and force things to happen. Sometimes they will work and make him look smart, other times they'll make people scream "I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD HAVE HIRED AJ HINCH!"
TLR didn't become a HOF manager by playing by the rules all the time.