Red Sox Journal: Back issues keep Martinez on bench

BOSTON — In the near future at least, the Red Sox will be limiting J.D. Martinez’s time in the outfield.

Recurring back issues caused the slugger to leave the lineup early in Thursday’s victory at Kansas City, and Martinez was out of action to begin the weekend series against the Rays. Eduardo Nunez served as the designated hitter on Friday night in the opener of a four-game set at Fenway Park.

"We have to be careful," [...]

BOSTON — In the near future at least, the Red Sox will be limiting J.D. Martinez’s time in the outfield.

Recurring back issues caused the slugger to leave the lineup early in Thursday’s victory at Kansas City, and Martinez was out of action to begin the weekend series against the Rays. Eduardo Nunez served as the designated hitter on Friday night in the opener of a four-game set at Fenway Park.

“We have to be careful,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “There are certain days where we need him out there, but to play him three days in a row — we’ll try to stay away from it. You can’t say you’ll never do it, but you have to be careful.”

Martinez has struggled physically after his pair of extended stretches in the field this season. He served as an outfielder five times from April 13-17 and saw his production lag at the plate over his next seven games, managing just one extra-base hit in 26 at-bats. Martinez then missed both games in a series against Tampa Bay, and his absence came despite an extra day off due to an April 26 rainout.

Martinez struggled again after appearing in the outfield in four of his six games from May 12-19. He missed all four games of the following series at Toronto and has served as the designated hitter in 10 of his last 11 starts. Martinez has collected seven extra-base hits in that span, but he’s batting just .255 with a .300 on-base percentage.

Martinez suffered from back spasms against the Royals. He was given a scheduled day off and battled an illness against the Blue Jays, but the last two games he missed in that series were due to lower-back tightness. Cora said Martinez is day-to-day as Boston begins its eight-game, seven-day homestand against the Rays and Rangers.

“Hopefully he feels better tomorrow,” Cora said. “If we have to stay away from him, we’ve still got Sam (Travis) here and we can mix and match. We can move guys around and compete at this level and, at the same time, take care of guys.”

Moreland activated

Martinez’s lingering physical difficulties explained the roster move made by the Red Sox early on Friday.

Mitch Moreland (lower-back strain) was activated off the injured list. His last appearance came on May 25 at Houston. He was just 2-for-15 over his last four games. Moreland remains third on the team in runs batted in with 34 despite his extended absence.

“He’s a guy who grinds through a lot,” Cora said. “He pushes himself to be in the lineup if he feels great or not. We’ve been talking today and he feels awesome.”

Right-handed pitcher Ryan Weber was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket, leaving Boston with four position players on the bench. The Red Sox are likely to add a pitcher for Saturday’s doubleheader, and right-hander Josh Smith had a locker set up in the home clubhouse on Friday afternoon. Smith struck out 11 in just 5 1/3 innings during his last outing against Lehigh Valley on Monday.

David Price will start the second half of the day-night doubleheader on Saturday at 6 p.m. Neither team has announced a pitcher for the afternoon game at 1:05 p.m.

One more bullpen

Nathan Eovaldi (right elbow) will throw at least one more time before beginning a rehab assignment.

Eovaldi is scheduled for a bullpen session this weekend to clean up some mechanical issues. He’s close to being ready to take the mound against a minor-league opponent after simulated games at Yankee Stadium and Kauffman Stadium over the last week.

“We don’t want to rush him if he doesn’t feel right,” Cora said. “Obviously this is a guy who is very important for us. To just throw him out there when he’s not sound mechanics-wise doesn’t make sense for him or for us.”

Eovaldi’s last start came against the Yankees on April 17. He fired six innings and didn’t allow an earned run in what wound up a 5-3 loss.

Making progress

Tyler Thornburg (right-hip impingement) threw a simulated game on Friday.

The right-handed reliever tossed 30 pitches to Travis and Michael Chavis. Thornburg hasn’t appeared since May 21 at Toronto, requiring 30 pitches to get through the sixth inning of a 10-3 loss.

“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” Cora said. “It seems like he’s very close to going to a rehab assignment.”

Thornburg has allowed 21 hits in 18 2/3 innings this season, pitching to a 7.71 earned-run average in 16 appearances.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25