Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka will begin a minor-league rehab assignment Monday for High-A Salem, manager Bobby Valentine told reporters (including Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com) Friday. The plan is that Dice-K will need five rehab starts. They're looking for him to get around 75 pitches, with no more than 30 in an inning.

Of note here: Rehab assignments are limited to 30 days, so this shows some level of confidence in Matsuzaka's ability to be ready in a month. He'll be on a regular five-day rotation.

"He's ready to start dealing with competition," said Valentine. "Daisuke feels good."

Matsuzaka, 31, had Tommy John surgery to repair his right elbow ligament last June.

Last season, Dice-K went 3-3 with a 5.30 ERA and 1.47 WHIP before the torn UCL ended his season. Since going 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA and finishing fourth in AL Cy Young voting, Matsuzaka has been a severe disappointment, as injuries, inconsistency and poor command have doomed him.

The Red Sox could certainly use the rotation help. They are 4-8 so far and the staff ERA is a horrifying 6.20. The best ERA in the starting rotation is Daniel Bard's 4.63 mark.

There's some serious incentive for Dice-K to get back and pitch well this season, too, because he is a free agent after this season. He's making $10.33 million this year.

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