Injury Questions Surround Andrew Bailey After Bobby Valentine Discusses ‘Health Situation’ in Red Sox Bullpen

by abournenesn

Apr 1, 2012

Injury Questions Surround Andrew Bailey After Bobby Valentine Discusses 'Health Situation' in Red Sox BullpenFORT MYERS, Fla. –– There is uncertainty surrounding Andrew Bailey's health and status.

Before Sunday's game against the Twins, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said "there might be some health situations" with a pitcher in the bullpen, but declined to specify the player in question.

All indications point to Bailey as the individual. The closer hasn't pitched since Mar. 28, when he tossed 26 pitches against minor leaguers. He was scheduled to pitch in two games before the end of spring training, but has since been removed from the list.

Multiple reports are claiming that Bailey is battling a thumb injury. Without identifying the pitcher, Valentine answered "yes' when asked if the player in question was a candidate to start the year on the disabled list.

Bailey and Alfredo Aceves were the only pitchers that weren't present at the early-morning workouts.

The injury could affect the last player selected on the 25-man roster. Over the past few days, Valentine hinted that a position player –– possibly Jason Repko, Pedro Ciriaco or Nate Spears –– could wind up on the team.

But Valentine backtracked on that Sunday, pointing to the health concerns around the pitcher in question as a reason to pitch another hurler.

"I said it might not be a pitcher, it might be a pitcher, so I might have lied," Valentine said of the last selection on the roster. "That might have been an incorrect statement."

The thumb issue would mark Bailey's second setback of the spring. He suffered a strained lat during physicals at the beginning of camp that caused him to miss a week of spring training games.

Bailey's last appearance in a spring training game took place on Mar. 25, when he tossed a scoreless frame against Toronto.

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