Veteran shortstop Royce Clayton, here playing for the Blue Jays in April, is looking forward to being called up by Boston.

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

PAWTUCKET — Royce Clayton is the answer to a great trivia question.

He replaced legendary shortstop, and Hall-of-Famer, Ozzie Smith at shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1996 and he filled that void for parts of three seasons. That’s not the only interesting fact of Clayton’s 17-year major-league career and he’s about to add another.

The Boston Red Sox signed the veteran to a minor-league contract on Aug. 23 and he’s been with the PawSox ever since. But that will change when major-league rosters expand tomorrow as Clayton will likely be a September call-up when Pawtucket concludes its season on Monday. When he does join Boston, it’ll become his 11th major-league team.

After the Toronto Blue Jays released him on Aug. 8 a few teams contacted him about retaining his services, including the Red Sox and the Yankees. Clayton said he would have been comfortable sitting out the remainder of the season, while at home enjoying his family and contemplating his future.

But this opportunity was too good to pass up. So why did the 37-year-old choose the Red Sox and not the Yankees?

“Because they’re in first place,” he said with a laugh. “You can call me a front-runner.”

Seriously, he wants to be part of a World Series championship and he likes what the Red Sox have done to position themselves to do just that this season.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “You suit up every year with hopes of getting to the playoffs, eventually a World Series to bring home a ring. Obviously, they are the best team in baseball right now, and this is a good opportunity for me to be a part of it and hopefully I can contribute.”

When Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein called about the possibility of signing a minor-league deal, Clayton had one stipulation before deciding whether or not to join the Red Sox. He wanted to be home to see his son’s first day of school. The timeframe between Epstein’s call and his son’s first day was about a week.

Epstein agreed.

“I appreciate [the Red Sox] accommodating that because it meant a lot to me,” said Clayton. “My son may not remember it, but I will. After that, my mind was clear and I was ready to come, get in shape and help the club.”

During his brief hiatus from the game the only physical activity he participated in was some light workouts, and it wasn’t until he joined the PawSox on their last road trip that he picked up a ball and swung a bat.

Because of his experience and professional personality, Clayton feels he can be a valuable asset to the Red Sox clubhouse for the stretch run and into the postseason, a place he’s been before and just one game away from going to the World Series with the Cardinals in 1996.

“I know my role is going to be different than what I’m accustomed to, but I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I’ve talked to guys before who have done this and they said it takes the pressure off and you enjoy the game because you can sit back and take it in a little more. I’ll be ready, but at the same time I’m enjoying every single day.”

For the last 16 season he’s been on the outside looking in at Red Sox Nation. Now he’ll be a part of it soon enough.

“In St. Louis there’s a great tradition and great fan support,” said Clayton. “But in this era it doesn’t get any better than Red Sox Nation. When a team [like the Red Sox] calls me in this type of situation it really gives me a good feeling inside because a championship-caliber team wants my services. It really means a lot to me.”

jmcdonal@projo.com