Joel Hanrahan transferred to 60-day DL, Jose De La Torre called up

We knew Jose De La Torre was headed to Boston in order to take Joel Hanrahan's spot in the bullpen -- general manager Ben Cherington said as much on Thursday morning -- but we did not know what the corresponding 40-man move was going to be. Turns out that Hanrahan himself will open a spot, as the reliever is expected to shift from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL. This does not bode well for his 2013 chances, as the Red Sox are giving up two months of him before even hearing back from Dr. James Andrew, whom Hanrahan is scheduled to meet on Friday for further evaluation of his ailing elbow.

Hanrahan will be out until at least early July just given the rules of the 60-day DL, but if it turns out surgery is needed to repair his elbow, it will be even longer than that before he sees a mound again, as he might end up missing the rest of 2013. While that's good news for De La Torre's 40-man spot, it's not so great for the Red Sox bullpen. At least, relative to what a healthy Hanrahan could have provided: diagnosing whatever has been amiss with him should help the bullpen in the sense they won't have a walking elbow injury pitching high-leverage innings any longer.

This is also likely good news for the health of Franklin Morales, who could have been transferred to the 60-day disabled list, and would not have been eligible to return until May 22. He has restarted his rehab assignment, and pitched two innings on Wednesday -- the Red Sox are at least more optimistic about his return within the next couple weeks than they were of Hanrahan's, so there's that. And hey, maybe Morales will even be able to fix the rotation situation when he does return.

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