Daniel Bard 'Shut Down' By Red Sox
BOSTON (CBS) -- Daniel Bard's 2013 season continues to move from bad to worse.
The right-hander has been "shut down," according to Red Sox manager John Farrell. Bard will be kept to just throwing bullpen sessions in the meanwhile.
This season in Double-A, Bard, 27, has an 0-1 record and 6.39 ERA to go with 17 walks in 12 2/3 innings in his first Double-A playing time since 2008. Bard has also thrown eight wild pitches. That's after a nightmarish season in 2012, when he failed as a starter (4-6, 5.30 ERA) and could not re-establish himself as a reliever (16.20 ERA in MLB, 7.03 ERA in Triple-A). This year in the majors, he has a 9.00 ERA in his one inning, with two walks and one strikeout.
As recently as May 16, Farrell said shutting down Bard was not an option.
"We haven't gotten to that point of just taking the ball out of his hand and letting something just take its natural course to resolve itself," Farrell said, according to MassLive.com. "I don't think we're of the mind-set that things are going to just turn for the sake of turning. You're looking to do something, you're looking to be proactive, address something with getting involved in a situation like this, and we continue to do so. I'm sure no one is more frustrated than Daniel is."
It's unclear what Bard's future will be, but the most recent setback ensures that his road back to the major leagues just got even longer.
