Hideki Okajima will be activated from the 15-day disabled list Saturday prior to the Red Sox' meeting with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Right-hander Michael Bowden will be optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket to make room on the roster for Okajima, who has been sidelined since Aug. 6 with a right hamstring strain.
The 34-year-old Okajima last pitched a day before he was DL'd, retiring one batter and giving up one run on two hits and a walk against Cleveland. The outing raised his ERA to 5.85 and his WHIP to an unsightly 1.98.
The lefty was an All-Star in 2007, his first season in the majors, when he went 3-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 66 games out of the Boston bullpen. Since then his numbers have progressively gotten worse, but the struggles of 2010 have caught the team by surprise.
Okajima's ERA has spiked from 3.39 in 2009 to the current 5.58, his WHIP from 1.26 to the aforementioned 1.98 and opponents are hitting .350 off him this year, more than 100 points higher than last year.
He allowed five runs in 2 1/3 innings over three games while rehabbing at Pawtucket.
Bowden, 23, was converted from a starter at the Triple-A level to a reliever in order to help out the big club, but he has struggled as well. In six innings over six games he has allowed four runs on 10 hits.
