Felix Doubront, Daniel Bard named starters

FORT MYERS — Red Sox [team stats] manager Bobby Valentine just confirmed what has been widely suspected: Daniel Bard will be the team’s fifth starter. Bard will make his debut in the Sox’ fifth game, at Toronto on April 10. Alfredo Aceves was the odd-man out of the rotation, as Felix Doubront earned the No. 4 spot. Valentine said that Aceves “wasn’t happy” to be sent to the bullpen. Valentine assured Aceves that he will have a very important role in the Sox bullpen and called the right-hander one of the team’s best pitchers in camp. Doubront told reporters that he was excited and relieved to earn the nod. Doubront will take the fourth spot largely due to the Sox’ unwillingness to pitch the lefty back-to-back with No. 1 starter Jon Lester. Considering that the Doubront and Bard decisions were unsurprising, the biggest news of the morning was Valentine’s cryptic allusion to a potential injury in the Sox bullpen. Valentine wouldn’t specify which pitcher is dealing with a “health situation.” That sent reporters scrambling to figure out potential injury candidates. Closer Andrew Bailey stands out, as he hasn’t pitched in a major league game since last Sunday. Bailey did throw 12⁄3 innings in a Triple-A game on Wednesday. He threw 26 pitches and allowed two hits and one run while striking out two batters. Here’s what Bailey said after that appearance: “Obviously it’s not the right foot you want to get on,” he said, referring to a lat strain at the start of camp. “But I’ve gotten plenty of work and caught up to the rest of the guys and I’ll be ready for Opening Day. I’ve still got two more innings to throw and there’s Detroit, so I’m looking forward to it. It was a quick spring training, that’s for sure.” Bailey was scheduled to pitch yesterday against the Rays, but didn’t make the trip. It didn’t raise any red flags at the time considering that most of the regulars remained in Fort Myers. On the pitching schedule posted Friday, Bailey was also slated to pitch in tomorrow’s Grapefruit League finale. On the schedule posted this morning, that is no longer the case. That’s just connecting the dots, but it seems that Bailey is the most likely injury suspect. Valentine said Aaron Cook was also in the conversation for the fifth starting spot. Cook is not a candidate for the bullpen, so he’s likely headed to Pawtucket to start the season. While the final roster spot had originally been thought to belong to a position player, Valentine said the injury concern could cause the team to change course and add a pitcher to fill the hole. Josh Beckett was scheduled to throw in a minor league game today. He will throw a controlled bullpen session instead.