Breaking: ERod on DL

(BARRY CHIN/GLOBE STAFF)
Eric D. Schabell
Contributing Writer

The worst fears for the Red Sox are now a reality.

After throwing a bullpen session yesterday to test the progress in his injured right knee, lefty starter Eduardo Rodriguez was put on the DL this morning.

That is not the Happy St. Patricks Day the Red Sox were hoping for. Ian Browne talked to manager John Farrell who announced the move during the morning press conference.

"He is not going to be ready for the start of the season," said Farrell. "So ... we'll address each phase as it comes. Most importantly, we want to make sure that his stride direction, his stride length, all of those, are normal as we then build the intensity on top of that."

When pushed on how long Rodriguez could potentially miss,  Farrell was clear that they would not rush him.

"The best-case scenario is when he's first ready and available," Farrell said. "I'm not trying to avoid your question, but there are steps that we have to go through here, and I don't have an exact number of days that he'll have to advance through each of those phases.

"I can tell you this: Anytime we get a starting pitcher that goes out on rehab, you're getting them to 80-90 pitches. You can't bring them back with the potential that they overtax a bullpen. We've got to build to that point. He needs Spring Training."

Now all eyes will be on the open spot in the rotation and how candidates Steven Wright, Roenis Elias, and Henry Owens perform each and every Spring start. At the time of this publication the later is on the mound and all eyes are on him.


Expect more of the same for each of these candidates as they tackle their remaining 3-4 starts in Spring Training.

Post a comment or via twitter @erics_redsox with your thoughts.

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