The Sox made the move retroactively and called Mauro Gomez up.
View full sizeBoston Red Sox pitcher Felix Doubront has been skipped in the rotation for rest, but the official reason he is on the disabled list is a knee problem.NEW YORK - Red Sox left-hander Felix Doubront went on the 15-day disabled list for knee problems, nine days after making his last start.
Teams have 10 days to put a player on the DL retroactively. Doubront will required to stay on the DL for 15 days from his last game, not from the time the decision was made.
He will be eligible to pitch on Aug. 25. What the delay did do was cause the Red Sox to play for more than a week with 24 available players, since Doubront was taking up the 25th roster spot.
The team's official reason for the DL stint was the knee problem. That is not why he hasn't been pitching, though.
It was initially announced that Doubront would skip a start for rest. He has pitched 123 innings.
The 24-year-old lefty has been a pro since 2005, but his career high of innings pitched was 129 in 2008.
At the time of that decision, there was no mention of a knee issue. In fact, Valentine speculated that Doubront might do "a little more legwork, do a little less throwing.''
On Friday, Valentine said the knee issue had been cleared up. Doubront threw 45 pitches in a side session Friday.
On Saturday, Valentine said he did not know if a team was required to supply a specific physical reason for putting a player on the DL. He said "I think it was coincidental'' that the knee issue came during a stretch where Doubront was wearing down and needed what his manager has called "an active rest.''
Not only was it coincidental, it was handy. Teams do not generally use the DL to justify why pitchers skip a start, and using the disabled list because a pitcher needed a short breather would have been unconventional, to say the least.
First baseman Mauro Gomez was called up from Pawtucket to fill Doubront's roster spot. The Red Sox could have made this move a week ago and availed themselves of an extra player, but Adrian Gonzalez' hot bat means Gomez may not have played much or at all, anyway.
Gomez has also played third base, where the Sox could use help, but he has had major problems defensively there.