The Red Sox have placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list with neck pain, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. First baseman/designated hitter Mauro Gomez will replace Matsuzaka on the 25-man roster. Bobby Jenks was released to make room on the 40-man roster for Gomez, the club announced in addition.
Matsuzaka had neck pain and stiffness heading into his start Monday against Oakland, in which he allowed five runs in just one inning of work. He has thrown just 60.1 innings in the last two seasons.
Gomez has just two career major league games but owns excellent minor league numbers this season with Triple-A Pawtucket. In 303 plate appearances, Gomez is hitting .310/.366/.617 with 19 home runs. It's tough to see where the playing time comes for Gomez behind both Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz, but his numbers were putting some pressure on Red Sox management.
Jenks pitched just 15.2 innings in 2011 with a 6.32 ERA. He hasn't pitched at all in 2012 due to a back injury. The Red Sox gave Jenks a two-year, $12 million contract prior to the 2011 season.
