NESN

Franklin Morales Scheduled to Start Saturday, Aaron Cook’s Turn Pushed Back as Bobby Valentine Shuffles Rotation

BOSTON — The Red Sox rotation is still in flux.

After Franklin Morales shined in Sunday’s spot start and Aaron Cook rebounded from a string of subpar starts on Monday, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine will try to spread out the love.

“I have him penciled in,” Valentine said of Morales. “It’s not in ink yet. [Cook] will miss the Cleveland series and be ready for Baltimore.”

Morales, who is 3-2 with a 3.14 ERA and 64 strikeouts this season, later said that he would be slated to start in Saturday’s contest against the Indians.

While Valentine wouldn’t officially disclose the rotation moving forward, Felix Doubront confirmed that he would start on Thursday. Based on the schedule, it’s likely that Clay Buchholz would toe the rubber in Friday’s game.

When Cook — who is 3-5 with a 4.70 ERA — takes the hill against the Orioles, it will likely be on a little more than week’s worth of rest. But those are the shakeups that Valentine is being forced to make with a bevy of starting options.

Have a question for Didier Morais? Send it to him via Twitter at @DidierMorais or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.