On Monday the Red Sox placed left-hander Rich Hill, who recently underwent Tommy John surgery, on the 60-day disabled list, which removes him from the 40-man roster. Replacing him on the 40 is right-hander Junichi Tazawa, who was activated off the 60-day DL and optioned to Double-A Portland.
Tazawa, 25, pitched for Portland Monday night against New Britain and struggled. He recorded just two outs in the first inning before being pulled. He allowed six earned runs on three hits, two walks and one hit batsman.
Tazawa, who underwent Tommy John surgery on April 6, 2010 and missed the entire 2010 season, also threw a wild pitch that allowed a New Britain run to score.
Hill, 31, had not allowed a run in eight innings, spread over nine appearances, in 2011 prior to suffering a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow while pitching against the White Sox on June 1. He is expected to be sidelined until late in the 2012 season.