Bobby Jenks is pleased that he and the Red Sox caught his right arm injury in time and remains hopeful he will be able to come off the disabled list when he is due in two weeks.
The right-hander was placed on the DL on Thursday with biceps tendinitis. He said on Friday that the MRI he received also revealed a strained bicep. The injuries had been felt for roughly 10 days. Jenks said he was falling into some poor mechanics by trying to compensate, but knew when warming up in the bullpen Wednesday night that the issue needed to be addressed.
"One of those things where we caught it in time, just unfortunate timing," he said Friday. "One of those things where I've been trying to throw for a week now and it just wasn't going away. During the extra-inning game I tried to get warm, started cramping up on me. I told them immediately."
Jenks said the ailment could be felt at any time of the day.
"The best way I can describe it is standing here doing nothing but my arm felt like I had just done 12 sets of curls," he said. "Very fatigued, just like constant achiness."
The 30-year-old Jenks, signed this offseason to a two-year, $12 million contract, is 1-2 with an unsightly 9.35 ERA. He admitted that trying to throw through the pain had hindered his effectiveness in his last two outings, during which he gave up three runs on four hits and four walks in only 1 1/3 innings.
Jenks said he has never had an injury like this, and insists his elbow — which caused him problems in 2010 — "feels perfect."
As for whether he will be back in two weeks, Jenks remains positive, while offering up no guarantees.
"They're very confident that what I need now is rest let the bicep to heal," he said. "Just take these next three, four days, not even touch a baseball, just go from there. Once it has calmed down completely, just reassess it and see what the exact timeline will be.
"The way it feels right now, just with this day and a half rest, it's already feeling a little bit looser, and I think after another few days we should be right on the track we are now."
