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TORONTO -- The Red Sox on Tuesday activated right-hander Joel Hanrahan from the disabled list, but are sticking with Andrew Bailey in the closer's role for the time being.

While incumbent closer Hanrahan was sidelined for 15 days with a right hamstring strain, Bailey excelled as his replacement, going five for six in save chances. For the season, he has 20 strikeouts and a 1.46 ERA in 12 1/3 innings.

Farrell broke the news to Hanrahan before Tuesday's game in Toronto.

"Obviously I've been out of the ballgame for 15 days and he says he's going to kind of work me back in," Hanrahan said. "Bailey's been doing a heck of a job. I told him that I'm comfortable with whatever you want to do. The way the team's playing right now, I just want to fit in and do my part to help. I'm just excited to be back."

The Red Sox have activated right-hander Joel Hanrahan (right hamstring strain) from the 15-day disabled list.

He will be available for tonight's game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but it's unknown whether he'll be used as the closer moving forward.

Manager John Farrell had declared Hanrahan was his closer unequivocally after he was acquired in a trade from the Pirates last winter, but with Andrew Bailey racking up a win and five saves while striking out 20 in 12 1/3 innings, Farrell could be leaning toward the hot hand.

In an interview with MLB Network Radio today, Farrell wouldn't confirm whether Bailey would in fact keep his job as Sox closer, but seemed to indicate he was leaning that way.

"[Hanrahan is] active today ... Before announcing what his role is, when he comes to the ballpark we'll have a chance to sit down. I did talk to him after his final appearance in Pawtucket, mostly and specifically on just physically feeling fine so we can go ahead and make the roster move. The one thing Joel is, he's honest with himself, and he understands what's going on here. And the fact is if he's healthy he's going to make us a better team. But until I have a chance to sit down and talk with him directly and say 'Hey, I think this is maybe the way we should go for the short-term,' we'll probably wait until we meet in person here this afternoon."

Hanrahan, 31, is 0-1 with three saves, an 11.57 ERA (6 ER/4.2 IP), and four strikeouts over six relief outings for the Red Sox this season.

To make room for him on the 25-man roster, right-hander Daniel Bard was optioned to Double-A Portland after Sunday’s win against Houston.

Bard, 27, made two relief appearances for Boston after his April 24 recall, allowing one run on one hit and two walks with one strikeout in 1.0 inning of work.

Red Sox right-hander Andrew Bailey and first baseman Mike Napoli were named American League Co-Players of the Week.

Bailey went 1-0 with three saves, one walk and eight strikeouts over five innings in five appearances.

Napoli batted .345 (10-for-29) with five doubles, a triple, a homer and 10 RBIs over seven games. He hit the game-winning double to score Dustin Pedroia to help the Red Sox edge the Rays 3-2 on Patriots Day. It was Napoli’s third career game-winning hit, and gave Bailey his first win of the season.

It's just the third time Red Sox players have shared the weekly honor, joining Mike Lowell and David Ortiz (August 2007) along with Pedro Martinez and Trot Nixon (July 2002).

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- New Red Sox pitcher Joel Hanrahan said Wednesday morning he has no plans to relinquish his role as the team’s closer.

“That’s the role they gave me coming in after the trade and I don’t plan on just giving it up,” he said.

Fellow reliever Andrew Bailey was standing within earshot and appeared to have no issue with Hanrahan’s comments, because both were told of the team’s plan this winter after the Red Sox acquired Hanrahan in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates in December.

Prior to the trade, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington and manager John Farrell both spoke with Bailey about the team’s plan to name Hanrahan the closer and use Bailey primarily as an eighth-inning setup man.

“Ben had given me a little heads up on that and I said, ‘Hey, whatever makes us better.’ I only get to play this game a certain amount of time and I want to win,” Bailey said Wednesday. “All the accolades are great in the role of a closer, but ultimately everyone here wants to win and that’s the goal.”

The Red Sox now have plenty of depth in their bullpen. Even though it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Cherington trade one of his bullpen many arms, Bailey said he wants to remain in Boston.

“I love it here,” he said. “The team we have is a winner, a contender. We do have a deep bullpen. Starters only have to go four or five innings, really. It’ll be fun down there, for sure. Obviously, everyone’s goal as a reliever is to close, and I’ve said this before, I don’t think my closing days are done and I certainly hope they’re not done in Boston. I love the city. I love being here and it’s close to home (Connecticut) for me.”

When Bailey arrived in Boston prior to the 2012 season, he was tagged as the club’s closer. But a thumb injury and subsequent surgery last spring forced the right-hander to miss the majority of last season. Alfredo Aceves served as the Sox closer and when Bailey returned late in the season, he made 19 appearances and collected six saves.

“I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do last year, or had that opportunity because of the injury,” he said. “I’m excited about this year to come in healthy and show what I can do.”

When the full weight of Tampa Bay shortstop Reid Brignac toppled onto the right shoulder of Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury last April 13 as he was sliding into second base, it cost Ellsbury more than the 79 games he missed with a partially dislocated shoulder.

The injury conservatively cost Ellsbury at least $5 million, the raise he could have expected in salary arbitration had he come close to approximating his career performance when healthy. The Sox center fielder could have reasonably expected millions more had his 2012 performance approached his breakout 2011 season, when he was MVP runner-up.

Had Ellsbury remained healthy, he would have compared favorably in arbitration to two outfielders who have had similar service time in the major leagues, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones and San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence. The Orioles last summer signed Jones, who had a breakout 2012 (32 home runs, .334 OBP, .505 SLG, .839 OPS) to a six-year, $85.5 million extension that averages $14.25 million a season. Pence is expected to command between $13 million and $14 million in arbitration from the Giants, after a season in which he hit 24 home runs and posted a .319/.425/.743 line.

Jones and Pence, like Ellsbury, have been All-Stars, but neither player has had a season as spectacular as the one Ellsbury had in 2011, when he hit 32 home runs, stole 39 bases and posted a .376/.552/.928 line. But neither has missed the playing time Ellsbury has in two of the past three seasons. Ellsbury played in just 18 games in 2010 after colliding with third baseman Adrian Beltre and fracturing his ribs.

So Ellsbury, who is in his third and final year of arbitration eligibility before qualifying for free agency after the 2013 season, is probably looking at only a slight increase over the $8.05 million he was paid in 2012, when his salary jumped from $2.04 million. A much bigger payday will come in free agency, assuming he returns to form. If that happens, agent Scott Boras can be expected to push Ellsbury into the $20 million to $25 million per year range occupied by outfielders Josh Hamilton and Carl Crawford.

It is for that reason the Sox and Boras have not engaged in talks regarding a contract extension. Having missed so much time, Ellsbury needs to make his case that he deserves to be near the top of baseball's salary bracket; the Sox wouldn't think of paying him at that level now.

Ellsbury is one of nine Red Sox players eligible to file for arbitration, with the players' association notifying MLB by Jan. 15 of the players filing, a formality. Three days later, on Jan. 18, teams and players exchange salary figures. If a team and arbitration-eligible player cannot reach an agreement, the case goes to an arbitration hearing, and a three-man panel chooses one of the two salary figures. Hearings are scheduled from Feb. 4 to Feb. 20.

Last winter, 142 players filed for arbitration. Only seven cases went to a hearing last February, with teams winning five of those. Teams have won the majority of cases in 14 of the past 16 years.

The other Sox players eligible for arbitration are catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and seven pitchers. The nine Sox players are listed here, along with the salaries projected for them by MLBtraderumors.com, using a formula the website has devised to project salaries of arbitration-eligible players: Ellsbury ($8.1 million), Saltalamacchia ($3.9M), Andrew Bailey ($3.9M), Joel Hanrahan ($6.9M), Alfredo Aceves ($2.6M), Daniel Bard ($1.6M), Andrew Miller ($1.4M), Franklin Morales ($1.4M) and Craig Breslow ($2.4M). Hanrahan, like Ellsbury, is in his last year of arbitration eligibility and can expect a significant bump from the $4.1 million he was paid by Pittsburgh in 2012. Saltalamacchia is also just a year away and is in line for an increase from the $2.5 million he was paid in 2012.

Bailey increased his salary eight-fold last winter, when he was signed by Boston for $3.9 million in his first year of eligibility after being paid $465,000 by Oakland in 2011. But his injury-shortened season and ineffective performance are likely to keep his salary static in 2013.

The Red Sox on Wednesday snuffed out any potential closer controversy before it could begin, saying that the newly acquired Joel Hanrahan will get the job and that incumbent Andrew Bailey will move to a setup role.

Red Sox assistant general manager Brian O'Halloran made the announcement on a conference call with reporters.

Bailey pitched ineffectively in his first year with the Red Sox. He had six saves in nine chances and posted a 7.04 ERA in just 15 1/3 innings. A freak thumb injury in spring training that required surgery kept him on the shelf for most of the season.

On Dec. 1, long before the Hanrahan move, Bailey told reporters he was looking forward to healthy season as the team's closer in 2013.

"They traded for me for a reason," he said. "Last year was very frustrating on a lot of counts. Even when I was healthy, I didn't do my job to my full expectations or the organization's expectations. I'm taking that into my offseason workout, knowing that I've got to hammer down games for this organization and this team and we've got to get to the playoffs.

"That's where my mindset is, and anything else happens, I'm just looking forward to throwing a lot of innings this year," he said. "My performance last year, I'll be the first to say wasn't who I was and wasn't anything I was proud of. This year I'm going to go out and do my job. I'm looking forward from Day 1 to the end of the World Series pitching for this organization."

BOSTON -- Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey said he has heard from a number of former Oakland teammates raving about Jonny Gomes, the outfielder whose signing by the Sox was made official Saturday.

"From the first day of spring training [in Oakland], he came in and said this team reminded him of the 2008 Rays and kept the positive message throughout," Bailey said. "Guys told me I'm going to love him. I'm really looking forward to playing with him."

Bailey, limited by injuries to just 15 1/3 innings last season, said he plans to come to camp assuming that he is the team's closer.

"I think I have to," he said. "Right now I would think I'm the only guy in that role. They traded for me for a reason. Last year was very frustrating on a lot of counts. Even when I was healthy, I didn't do my job to my full expectations or the organization's expectations. I'm taking that into my offseason workout, knowing that I've got to hammer down games for this organization and this team and we've got to get to the playoffs.

"That's where my mindset is, and anything else happens, I'm just looking forward to throwing a lot of innings this year. My performance last year, I'll be the first to say wasn't who I was and wasn't anything I was proud of. This year I'm going to go out and do my job. I'm looking forward from Day 1 to the end of the World Series pitching for this organization."

Bailey said he has gotten positive feedback from Sox teammates about the hiring of John Farrell.

"I think it's great," he said. "Everything is headed in the direction the front office wants it to, and the history with Farrell is great for this team. I was talking with some of the guys this offseason and they're excited about it. I think the relationships are already kind of built in that regard. The newer guys, myself included, that's a good thing going into camp that a lot of the veteran guys, a lot of the core guys who have been here, already have those foundations set."

Bailey said he plans to begin some light throwing next week, with the idea of throwing off a mound after the first of the year and being in Fort Myers Feb. 1. His primary goal, he said, is to remain healthy, a goal that has proven elusive, a freak thumb injury in spring training last season sidelining him for months.

"For me, that's always been an issue, health," he said. "And this year I've got to prove I can stay healthy for a full season. I need to for myself and the organization. They traded for me for a reason, and there's no doubt in my mind I can do what they want me to."

Bailey had his own rave, for reliever Junichi Tazawa.

"Him mentally just handling the ups and downs between Triple-A and big leagues was very impressive," Bailey said. "And obviously, coming up here and doing what he did is just icing on the cake. He has a big bright future ahead of him. I loved having him in the bullpen. He's a funny guy. Anyone with that kind of stuff deserves an opportunity."

Bailey, who is arbitration-eligible, said there have been no discussions yet regarding his contract. He was paid $3.9 million last season and probably can expect only a slight raise in his second year of eligibility.

BOSTON -- A few matters of note Saturday morning, where the Red Sox are staging "Christmas at Fenway," on the one-year anniversary of Bobby Valentine's introduction as Red Sox manager:

•The Sox made Jonny Gomes' signing of a two-year, $10 million deal official. "He fits well on a number of fronts -- personality standpoint, ability standpoint -- into what we're trying to do," GM Ben Cherington said during a 15-minute session with reporters at the ballpark.

Cherington talked about Gomes playing in left field for the Sox in 2013.

"Exactly how many at-bats, that's up to (manager) John (Farrell), and I guess, up to Jonny to some degree, how he performs," Cherington said. "We think the ballpark is a good fit for him. He's a grinder, an intense competitor. Matchups aren't always about left-right."

Sox closer Andrew Bailey said he'd heard from a number of former A's teammates raving about Gomes. "From the first day of spring training, he came in and said this team reminded him of the 2008 Rays and kept the positive message throughout," Bailey said. "Guys told me I'm going to love him. I'm really looking forward to playing with him."

•Gomes' signing has not altered the team's desire to re-sign Cody Ross, Cherington said, with whom the club has maintained "consistent" contact. "But he is talking to other teams as well," he said.

•The Sox would like to sign at least one more outfielder, Cherington said. He said the team would prefer to have another outfielder who could play both center and right, though he acknowledged that's not always possible.

•Bailey said he plans to begin throwing next week, a little earlier than usual, with the idea of getting on a mound after the first of the year and coming to Fort Myers around Feb. 1. He said he expects to be the team's closer next season. "I think I have to," he said. "Right now I'm the only guy in that role."

•Catcher Ryan Lavarnway said the Sox have not approached him about a possible move to first base and said he would be open to it if they did, but made it clear he would prefer to remain a catcher, given the work he has put in at the position. He called new acquisition David Ross "a great catcher" and said he didn't know how Ross's acquisition would impact his role with the club. Lavarnway has moved to Colorado and is training there.

"I feel prepared (for playing with the Sox), but I trust Ben. Whatever he feels I need to do, I'll do," said Lavarnway. Asked about the possibility of being traded, he said he won't worry about things he has no control over.

•Cherington said that he'll have a better sense in Nashville whether the Sox will address their needs more through trades or free agent signings. "Coming off the year we had, maybe in light of that, teams not surprisingly are inquiring about things that maybe they haven't in the past," Cherington said. "Look, we have to be open-minded when you have a year like this."

•Asked if the Sox would entertain trading a starting pitcher, Cherington said: "Anything is possible, but it certainly gets harder to do that."

•Cherington said that Rubby De La Rosa, one of the pitchers acquired from the Dodgers in last August's megadeal with the Dodgers, is coming to camp as a starting pitcher and could factor into the big league picture in 2013. De la Rosa is working out in Arizona, where a couple of Sox people visited him and were pleased with the progress he is making.

Interesting tweet today from ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney:

Rival teams say that Red Sox open to dealing Andrew Bailey--but because his value is currently low, odds of them trading him are pretty low.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 27, 2012

Your turn: Would you trade Bailey this winter?

NEW YORK -- This was not the autumn Andrew Bailey envisioned when he was traded last winter. He was the one who was supposed to be going to the postseason, not the team that traded him, the Oakland Athletics.

But here it is autumn, and while the Athletics have emerged as baseball’s biggest October surprise, the Boston Red Sox have imploded, Bailey not excepted. His latest meltdown may be the one that stings the most this winter: The 3-1 lead he was called upon to protect in the ninth inning Tuesday night lasted two batters, as he gave up a single to Curtis Granderson and a game-tying home run to pinch hitter Raul Ibanez, who won the game in the 12th with a single off Andrew Miller.

A season that began with a freak thumb injury is coming to an inglorious finish for Bailey, the All-Star closer who was supposed to replace the departing All-Star closer (Jonathan Papelbon) but instead has earned the designation of being the sour side of what has proven to be a great trade for Oakland.

The tally at the moment:
• Josh Reddick: 32 home runs, 84 RBIs
• Andrew Bailey: 6 saves, 7.04 ERA

(The other key component in that trade for the Red Sox, Ryan Sweeney, broke his hand punching a door, tipping the scales even further in Oakland’s favor.)

Push the reset button and hunker down for 2013?

"There’s no reset button for me," Bailey said. "My numbers speak for themselves. Unfortunately we have a long offseason. This game is what is going to keep me pushing forward to next year.

"I know the team that we’re going to have on the field next year, these guys aren’t just going out there giving games away. Everyone fought today; I went out there and blew it. It doesn’t feel good. These last two weeks are definitely going to keep me motivated to do more than I ever have."

It was less than two weeks ago that Bailey came in with a 4-1 lead against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Trop and gave up four singles and a walk before he was lifted, all five runners scoring in a 7-4 loss that ended on B.J. Upton’s walk-off home run off Vicente Padilla.

On Tuesday night, Bailey barely averted being saddled with another defeat, Mark Melancon improbably rescuing him from a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the ninth.

"[Jon] Lester threw a great ballgame," Bailey said. "The bullpen came in and did their job. I didn’t. That’s it. I let the team down. Two-run lead, I’ve got to get the first guy [Granderson] out. I made a bad pitch to Ibanez on a 1-and-2 count, left the ball in the middle.

"There’s nothing fun about going out there, guys just running around the bases. Unfortunately I’ll have a long offseason to think about that. You've got guys like [Dustin] Pedroia going out there and playing with broken fingers, whatever he has, getting a big double. Jonny throwing a hell of a ballgame, the bullpen coming in and doing their job, and I didn’t. So I’ve got to get back to just getting people out."

BOSTON -- When Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester limped off the field in the top of the eighth inning, it seemed like just another case of bad luck for this club.

After the Sox's 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals, Lester explained it was only a cramp in his left hamstring and he was fine. He improved to 8-10 this season after working seven innings (plus three pitches in the eight), allowing only three runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts. He tossed 96 pitches (61 for strikes).

"I'm fine. It just cramped up on me," Lester said. "I was battling a little bit since the fifth inning with it. It got a little worse as the game went on. I probably should have said something after pitch one [in the eighth] or my warm-ups."

Lester was removed with the Red Sox holding a 4-3 lead and was replaced by right-handed reliever Vicente Padilla. In fact, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine used a total of four pitchers in that inning. After Padilla allowed a single to the Royals' Billy Butler, and then recorded a strikeout, lefty Andrew Miller was summoned from the bullpen and retired the lone batter he faced. Red Sox right-hander Andrew Bailey replaced the southpaw and retired the only batter he faced to end the inning.

After the Red Sox were retired in order in the bottom of the eighth, Bailey remained in the game and earned his first save as a member of the Red Sox.

"I'm comfortable in that role, and from here on out, whatever they want to do is fine by me," Bailey said.

After the game, Valentine and GM Ben Cherington had a closed-door meeting with current closer Alfredo Aceves. When the meeting concluded, Aceves was clearly upset about something and slammed the door when he left the clubhouse.

BOSTON -- Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz received an injection Monday afternoon to help alleviate the pain and swelling of his right Achilles strain.

"I don't feel my foot right now and that means I feel good," Ortiz said after Boston's 9-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday night at Fenway Park. "It's going to be there for 6 to 8 hours, but it's supposed to get things better. I guess I have to give it a couple of days to see what the reaction is going to be like and go from there."

Ortiz said he's not allowed to participate in any activities for a few days, but he's hoping he'll be able to return to the lineup when the Red Sox travel to Cleveland on Thursday.

"He felt great," said Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine. "He said he could have played tonight on the bench, but who knows how long that's going to last?"

The injection of a local anesthetic, believed to be Marcaine, should help control the pain in the affected area. The treatment is not considered a setback, according to Valentine.

"[Medical staff] didn't think that was the necessarily the case when talking to them," the manager said.

Ortiz has been on the DL since July 16 and was eligible to be activated on Aug. 1.

Other injury updates:

• Reliever Vicente Padilla was not available to pitch Monday night due to a slight groin pull, along with biceps and triceps issues, according to Valentine. "He needs a day, at least," Valentine said.

• Reliever Andrew Bailey will continue his minor league rehab assignment and is scheduled to pitch back-to-back days on Wednesday and Thursday for the Pawtucket Red Sox. "He came in today and said he felt great," Valentine said.

• Starter Daisuke Matsuzaka (trapezius strain) made his second minor league rehab start for the PawSox on Sunday and allowed four runs (one earned) on five hits, a walk and three strikeouts in three innings of work. Valentine said Monday that -- despite the numbers -- the reports were positive. "The first two innings, he threw the ball better than he has, but when there was an error made behind him and a couple of guys got on base, he lost a little of his command," Valentine said. "(Pawtucket manager) Arnie (Beyeler) thought it was the best he's seen him so far."

• Dr. James Andrews examined right-handed reliever Scott Atchison's ailing forearm and elbow in Florida on Monday. The club is not expecting a final decision for the next couple of days as to whether the pitcher will need season-ending Tommy John surgery or will be able to rehab it and return to action.

• PawSox reliever Daniel Bard continues to progress, and the Red Sox think he's closing in on a return to Boston. "The latest is they like all the progress," Valentine said. "They sent him out for the second inning the other night and it wasn't quite what they were hoping for, but the first inning was terrific. He's getting close to helping us."

• Outfielder Daniel Nava received a cortisone shot in his ailing wrist on Monday.

NEW YORK -- Torrential rains just arrived in the Bronx, where the start of Saturday afternoon's game between the Yankees and Red Sox already was in a delay.

In the meantime, a few injury updates:

--Closer Andrew Bailey is scheduled to throw in a Gulf Coast League game Monday, but is "weeks -- at least weeks" away from returning to the big club, manager Bobby Valentine said.

--Pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka (remember him?) is scheduled to begin another rehab assignment Monday with Pawtucket.

--Pitcher Scott Atchison, who pitched for Pawtucket on Friday night, evidently had a setback, and will have more tests on his strained right forearm, Valentine said. That is a bit ominous for Atchison, one of the team's most pleasant surprises this season.

BOSTON -- A few notes to get you through the night:

• Kelly Shoppach started his third straight game behind the plate, the first time this season that has happened. All three of those games have been against lefties (Pedro Hernandez, Jose Quintana, Aaron Laffey), against whom Shoppach has gotten the majority of his playing time. But that's only part of the reason Shoppach was catching Friday night.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia started the game on the bench, then entered in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter for DH Pedro Ciriaco. Saltalamacchia struck out to end the game, as the Sox lost to the Blue Jays, 6-1. He remains mired in a horrific slump, his average dropping from .264 on June 21 to its current .228, a stretch in which he is batting just .132 (9-for-68) in his past 19 games, his only extra-base hits the four home runs he has hit. He has struck out 31 times in 68 at-bats in that span, and it has gotten worse of late: In his past nine games, Saltalamacchia has struck out 19 times in 30 at-bats, including 4 games of 3 or more strikeouts.

Asked the reasons for Saltalamacchia's slump before Friday's game, manager Bobby Valentine said: "Tough pitches, and swinging at some pitches that really weren't hittable. I think he will be a little more selective next time he gets out there and hit them the way he can.

"He's also a switch-hitter so he has a lot on his plate -- working on both sides of the plate, working with the pitching staff, and taking real personal responsibility when things don't go well. The one thing Salty has not shied away from is that idea that he is really responsible for everything that goes on out there with this pitching staff. I think that's a burden as much as anything. It's his first year doing it full-time and I think he is figuring it out."

• Closer Andrew Bailey took another step closer to returning Friday, throwing a bullpen. He's scheduled to throw another on Sunday and may face hitters in batting practice Wednesday in Texas, Valentine said.

"I don't think he has a health issue to deal with any longer,'' Valentine said of Bailey, who had thumb surgery in the spring then experienced a recurrence of the forearm strain that sidelined him for nearly two months last season in Oakland. "He now just has conditioning, a pitch buildup, and a competition challenge ahead of him.

• Classic negative Boston media moment: The first question Valentine was asked at Friday's pregame session came from WBZ's Jonny Miller, who wondered if Valentine was worried that one of his players could have gotten hurt during Thursday's walk-off celebration. Miller mentioned Kendrys Morales of the Angels, who fractured his leg during a similar celebration a couple of years ago.

Nonetheless, Valentine did a double-take before doing some quick thinking. "The more practice you have in those celebrations, the better you get at it," Valentine said. "I believe in practice."

SEATTLE -- Is the Josh Reddick-to-Oakland-for-Andrew Bailey deal going to stand as one of those trades the Boston Red Sox are going to regret down the line?

At the time, the deal made a lot of sense. Reddick had been less than sensational in 2011 with the Sox, and Boston badly needed a closer with Jonathan Papelbon having taken a hike to Philadelphia.

Bailey had just completed his third season with the A's, during which he'd saved 75 games and had a 2.07 ERA.

It seemed to be a no-brainer.

But here we are in July. Bailey's been hurt and hasn't pitched all season. He'll probably still pan out in the long run, but so far his contribution has been zilch after having surgery on his right thumb.

And Reddick? Well, when the Red Sox last saw him as the calendar turned from April to May, he was just another guy in the Oakland lineup. He was batting third, sure, but he wasn't hitting like a No. 3 hitter should. He had four homers and nine RBIs. No big deal, right?

In the interim, Reddick has become a big deal indeed. He is in fact the biggest deal in the Oakland lineup day in and day out given that Yoenis Cespedes, the outfielder signed out of Cuba, has spent considerable time on the disabled list.

Reddick has 14 homers and 30 RBIs for the A's since the Red Sox last saw him, and if you want a bit of perspective on how good a performance that is, consider that the Next Great Thing in Boston, third baseman Will Middlebrooks, has hit 10 homers over the same span.

"I'm not a guy who likes to talk in terms of expectations," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said last week. "But there is no question that Josh has exceeded all the expectations we had for him.

"Based on what we'd seen about him before this and his numbers last year with the Red Sox [seven homers in 254 at-bats], you'd be looking at maybe a 15-to-20-homer guy. So for him to be out there with [18] already, that's saying something."

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