ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Boston Red Sox were hoping to get by without putting shortstop Stephen Drew on the 15-day disabled list, but the move was made Friday prior to the opener of their three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels.
The move is retroactive to June 29, as Drew has been sidelined with tightness in his right hamstring since leaving in the fourth inning of a 7-5 victory June 28 against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. He worked out with team trainers about five hours before Friday's game, but manager John Farrell said Drew wasn't confident "that everything is ready to go in the event that he has to make a hard break to a ground ball in the hole."
"He can be a little more controlled on the base paths, but defensively is where the concern was," Farrell said.
Drew is hitting .233 this season with five home runs and 31 RBIs. He was batting .211 following the first game of a doubleheader June 18 against the Tampa Bay Rays, but has 12 hits in 33 at-bats since then (.364) to bump up his average.
The move allowed the Red Sox to activate right-hander Jose De La Torre and give Boston a seventh arm in the bullpen. De La Torre, who pitched briefly for the Red Sox earlier this season before he was returned to Triple-A Pawtucket, traveled to Anaheim as insurance and is available tonight.
Though Drew would be eligible to come off the disabled list for the final game before the All Star break, Farrell wasn't ready to look that far ahead.
"If he gets through this next week with the same type of progress that he has made, we'll re-evaluate at that time," Farrell said.
