Terry Francona to Keep Tim Wakefield Off ALDS Roster

As expected, the Red Sox will not be naming veteran pitcher Tim Wakefield to the ALDS roster due to the magnitude of the 43-year-old's back injury.

Wake took over a month off this summer after the All-Star game before slowly attempting a comeback to the Sox rotation. The knuckleballer was ineffective and in obvious pain in each of his four starts since returning from the disabled list. 

The Red Sox have yet to finalize the roster, but manager Terry Francona announced his decision on Monday before the team's flight to the West Coast for Game 1 of the series against the Angels.

"I think it's kind of obvious the situation he's in," Francona told MLB.com. "He's been trying to go out there on one leg. What we did also talk to him about is not shelving his season. You can go one day where you feel good about your pitching and then something happens. Wake has that ability, whether it's two weeks from now, to throw a pretty good game. He's on board with that, which we appreciate a lot. That's kind of where we are with him."

The Sox have told Wakefield to stay on his toes, as they may call upon him in an emergency role this series. They can even add him to the roster should they advance to the ALCS, especially since the righty hasn't pitched since Sept. 30, giving him and his nagging back more than a week of rest.

"He's not going to be in the first round, but that doesn't mean that something couldn't happen," Francona added. "We all understand where he's at. It's been very difficult for him physically. But we didn't want to just shut him down either, because he could still play a role. As crazy as this game is, we just want to keep all our options open, and he was completely on board with that, which we were appreciative of. I know it's not easy for him."

The 17-year veteran was having a career year prior to his back problems. Wake even earned his first All-Star berth this summer after going 11-3 with a 4.31 ERA in his first 17 starts of the '09 campaign.