Red Sox Reportedly Skipping Erik Bedard in Rotation Due to Lingering Knee Pain

Red Sox manager Terry Francona has stressed for the past month that Erik Bedard is still battling through some issues with his left knee, which was sprained earlier in the year when Bedard was still with the Seattle Mariners.

Those issues remain serious enough that the team will skip Bedard's next start, according to reports out of Toronto.

The left-hander's next turn would have been Friday at Tampa Bay. Kyle Weiland, brought up as part of the most recent wave of September call-ups, could make that start. If not, the Sox could use John Lackey on Friday and stay in line with a five-man rotation of Lackey, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield and Andrew Miller until Bedard returns.

Bedard, who has a long history of injuries, is coming off his first win with Boston. He allowed three runs in six innings to defeat Texas on Saturday. Since joining the Red Sox in a trade with the Mariners at the July 31 deadline, he is 1-2 with a 3.66 ERA.