It was just yesterday that Alfredo Aceves was told by Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine that he didn’t make the cut for the rotation and would be starting the season in the bullpen.  Aceves was reportedly upset by the news and given he was one of the best pitchers for the Sox this spring, so were many Red Sox fans.
But every day brings new surprises and today did that for Aceves.  This morning, during a conference call, Aceves shared that he was told by Valentine to be ready to spot start for the first two Josh Beckett scheduled games (game 2 of the season in Detroit on April 7th and the home opener in Boston on April 13th).  While the specifics are still unclear, it seems that Beckett suffered a thumb injury and has been pitching through it, Beckett is the second pitcher, after closer Andrew Bailey, to suffer a thumb injury this spring and might spend the beginning of the season on the disabled list.
At a press conference this morning, Valentine did some damage control, explaining that Beckett did have an “issue” with his thumb. Â He told reporters that the team was sending Beckett to San Antonio to have his thumb looked at to give the pitcher “peace of mind” and that he expected the right-hander would make his first scheduled start in Detroit on Saturday. Beckett has had a great spring, with a 0.95 ERA through 19 innings with opponents batting .117 against him while racking up 10 strikeouts and only giving up two runs.
With opening day roughly 75 hours away, the Red Sox are hoping they don’t begin the season already down a pitcher or two.
(Originally published on Examiner.com)