BOSTON — Chalk up another victim for Adrian Beltre.
Red Sox outfielder Jeremy Hermida was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday with five fractured ribs, part of a wild roster shuffle in the hours before the club's series opener with the Philadelphia Phillies.
An MRI taken on Hermida, who was injured in a collision with Beltre a week ago, showed the fractures, which manager Terry Francona said were non-displaced and acting very much like deep bone bruises.
"It's not the news I was hoping for this morning," said Hermida, who is hitting .217 with five home runs and 27 RBIs.
Beltre also hammered into Jacoby Ellsbury in what Francona described as an "eerily similar" play back on April 11, breaking four of Ellsbury's ribs. Ellsbury was placed on the DL for the second time May 28 with a fifth rib fracture suffered after he was activated May 22.
Hermida, who played two nights ago in Cleveland, has actually been feeling better. But with the way Ellsbury has been in and out of pain, the proper course of action was to DL Hermida once the test results came back.
The MRI was ordered after Hermida felt more pain following Wednesday night's game in Cleveland.
"It was feeling a little better every day to the point to where I could go out there and test it and the next day it didn't respond well," said Hermida, who indicated that he was prepared to play through the pain until the results of the MRI were revealed.
Francona said Hermida will resume baseball activities when his symptoms allow.
"We have to keep hitting milestones and get him back to where he can perform on the field," Francona added. "When that is we don't know."
As Hermida prepares to sit for a period of time, the Sox welcome back closer Jonathan Papelbon, who was on the bereavement list for four days. Francona said he will be ready to pitch right away.
The club also designated for assignment righty reliever Joe Nelson and recalled Scott Atchison from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Nelson, who gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings over his last two outings, admitted to reporters that he may have thrown his last pitch. If the 35-year-old clears waivers in 10 days, he does not expect to accept an assignment to Pawtucket.
"Probably not — then again, that's spur of the moment stuff," Nelson said. "I'm sure I'll talk to my family and my agent and maybe make a more educated decision Monday or Tuesday. If it was today I wouldn't be going."
Francona said the club has loved having Nelson, who is very well respected in the clubhouse. But the move came down to results.
"Sometimes you make moves based on performance," added Francona. "We love him. We wish the performance was better. I felt like we needed to do it. I think he actually agreed, although it hurt him."
Nelson had a 9.72 ERA in eight games with the Sox. Atchison, who has been up and down several times already, is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA with the big club.
