Red Sox reliever Andrew Bailey has been activated from the DL. (AP)

In a confirmation of what they’d been suggesting for several days, the Red Sox announced that right-hander Andrew Bailey has been activated from the 15-day disabled list. To clear a spot on the big league roster for the closer, right-hander Jose De La Torre was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket following Sunday’s game against the Twins.

Bailey was placed on the DL on May 6 (retroactive to April 29) due to a right biceps strain. Prior to the injury, he’d been dominant en route to a 1-0 record, five saves, a 1.46 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings.  The 28-year-old struck out two batters and allowed one run in one inning during a rehab appearance with Pawtucket on Saturday.

De La Torre, who was called up on May 9, made the first two big league appearances of his career. The 27-year-old gave up two runs in two innings and struck out a pair.  The 27-year-old has appeared in 10 games for Pawtucket this season, all out of the bullpen, going 1-0 with one save, a 1.56 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings.

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Joel Hanrahan

Red Sox reliever Joel Hanrahan was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list on Thursday, and the reliever is currently trying to determine whether he will require surgery for the right forearm strain.

The decision to move Hanrahan to the 60-day DL was made in order to free a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Jose De La Torre, who was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday. In addition, right-hander Allen Webster was optioned to Pawtucket after Wednesday night’s game.

Hanrahan, who has struggled at times over the course of his first month, with Boston, is 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA and four saves in nine appearances. According to a  source, there is no decision yet on whether or not Hanrahan will undergo surgery — he is visiting Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion — but he is expected to be sidelined for a couple of months at a minimum, even if there is no surgery needed.

“Once we got the initial MRI, it seemed [the 60-day DL] was a possibility,” said Sox manager John Farrell. “So not knowing the extent or total number of days, we felt it was still going to require some recovery time and then when you factor in the buildup back from that, we felt this was going to be a couple of months total at a minimum.” Read the rest of this entry »

Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said on the Dennis & Callahan show Thursday morning that the team would be promoting reliever Jose De La Torre, replacing Allen Webster on the 25-man roster. The Sox still have to clear a spot off the 40-man roster in order to add the 27-year-old right-hander.

De La Torre has been impressive with Triple-A Pawtucket, totaling a 1.56 ERA in 10 games. Opponents are hitting just .089 against the reliever, who has struck out 17 and walked 10 in 17 1/3 innings. He last pitched Tuesday, and hasn’t allowed a run since April 11 (seven straight scoreless appearances).

This is the first major league call-up for De La Torre, who had previously been in the Mets and Indians minor league systems. He made an impression during this year’s World Baseball Classic, striking out 12 in just 5 2/3 innings while pitching for Puerto Rico.

Matt Barnes has pitched a combined 3 1/3 innings in hs first two starts for Portland. (Darrell Snow / Greenville Drive)

It’s April. Sometimes it takes a while for pitchers to work their way into their normal velocity, command or execution. Cold weather — particularly after leaving Florida — can require an adjustment. So, too, can life at a new level. And the first outing or two certainly fall into the category of small, and potentially meaningless, sample.

It’s necessary to consider that context when looking at the performance of Matt Barnes in his first two starts with Double-A Portland. Nonetheless, because the right-hander got off to such an incredible start in 2012, his difficult initial turns of the rotation with the Sea Dogs are perhaps more notable than they might be for another player.

It’s worth recalling that Barnes enjoyed the most dominant stretch in all of minor league baseball at the start of last year. At a level where he should have dominated — given his age, stuff and college experience, Barnes was primed for considerable success in the Single-A South Atlantic League — he put up Nintendo numbers, with 42 strikeouts, four walks and a 0.34 ERA in 26 2/3 innings spanning five starts with Greenville. That, of course, resulted in a promotion in the first month to High-A Salem, where Barnes likewise buzzed through opposing lineups for eight starts before hitting a wall that challenged him in the second half. Read the rest of this entry »

For the first time in his career, Xander Bogaerts may play a position other than short in the WBC. (Billy Crowe/Greenville Drive)

In addition to Shane Victorino, who was named to Team USA, the Red Sox will have three additional participants in the World Baseball Classic. Perhaps the most notable participant will be top Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts, a native of Aruba who will play for the Netherlands. He will play for a team that already features a pair of tremendous defensive shortstops in Andrelton Simmons of the Braves and Jurickson Profar of the Rangers. That being the case, it will be interesting to see what position Bogaerts plays during the WBC.

Sox GM Ben Cherington told reporters in Providence that he doesn’t yet know what position Bogaerts will play for his team.

“Hopefully they’ll find a spot on the field where he’ll be safe,” said Cherington. “I think we’d be mostly concerned with just safety and putting him in a spot where he’ll be comfortable. I’m sure they want his bat in the lineup.”

(Interestingly, the Sox interceded when the possibility was raised of having Bogaerts play third base for the World Team during the All-Star Futures Game in July. However, those circumstances were different, as Bogaerts had no real time to prepare to play a position he’d never manned on a baseball field. In the case of the WBC, there will be more time to prepare him for an alternate position.)

Right-hander Alfredo Aceves will compete for Team Mexico. He’s expected to start for Mexico, although given that he was likely slated to get stretched out as a starter by the Sox, that assignment should have little bearing on his spring training build-up (aside from the unique nature of competing in meaningful games in spring training — though it’s worth noting that Aceves typically treats spring training games with ferocious intensity anyway).

The fourth and final Red Sox who will play in the WBC is right-hander Jose De La Torre, acquired last summer from the Indians in a trade for Brent Lillibridge and subsequently signed to a minor league deal this offseason. De La Torre will pitch for Puerto Rico. He’s currently pitching in the Puerto Rican Winter League. During the winter league regular season, he was outstanding, recording a 2.96 ERA with 30 strikeouts and just four walks in 24 1/3 innings. Those numbers build on an impressive 2012 campaign in which the 27-year-old had a 9-1 record, 2.80 ERA, 74 strikeouts and 24 walks in 74 innings for three minor league teams with the Indians and Sox organizations.