Andrew Bailey could be back within a week

Andrew Bailey was placed on the disabled list with a biceps strain retroactive to April 29, meaning he is eligible to return right now. He's not quite ready yet, though, but Red Sox manager John Farrell thinks he's close. He told Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio that they're hoping Bailey returns in the next five-to-seven days, and that they are "unsure" at this point if he'll need a rehab assignment first.

The Red Sox want to be cautious with Bailey, who felt some soreness and was dealing with inflammation back in late-April, especially now that the bullpen is already a man down with Joel Hanrahan out for the year. Having Bailey back sometime next week, in the midst of their 20 games in 20 day stretch to close out May and begin June, would be a boost in terms of personnel and timing -- it's likely they will need a fresh arm to inject into the bullpen in a stretch without any days off.

Hopefully, like with John Lackey's biceps inflammation, this issue vanishes once Bailey returns from the disabled list, and he can go back to being Boston's closer. That will push Junichi Tazawa back to the roaming setup role he began the season with, alongside Koji Uehara, and Boston will have a formidable back-end of the bullpen once more, even without Hanrahan around.