Red Sox Optimistic Dice-K Can Make Early Return

For those of you that are worried about the current Red Sox starting rotation,  you can rest easy because help is on the way. Ok, so Daisuke Matsuzaka may not be the same as getting Roy Halladay back, but Dice-K could bring a steady arm to a rotation currently looking for any means of assistance.

The $50 million dollar man, Dice-K will begin his rehab assignment on Monday by pitching in a single A game with a limit of 75 pitches according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.  Matsuzaka, who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery threw 59 pitches in what Lauber notes as an extended spring training game.  As Lauber explains, because a rehab assignment can only last 30 days, the decision to start Dice-K in a minor league game means he’ll be ready for a call-up by mid-May.

Suddenly the Red Sox will have a plethora of starting pitchers with not enough room for them all.  Aaron Cook has an opt out clause of May 1 if he’s not pitching in the majors and based on his early season results he is surely to get picked up by another club.

Matsuzaka is on his last year of the big contract the Red Sox signed him to, making him a free-agent by the winter.  If he can recover from surgery and bring some life to an otherwise stale starting five, he could be a nice trade candidate come July to shore up either the Red Sox bullpen or attempt to land a big time starter.

I wonder if Theo would take him as part of a package for Matt Garza?

For all the latest news and analysis from BoSox Injection, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or with our RSS feed.