SEATTLE -- It was no surprise when Red Sox manager Terry Francona announced Thursday afternoon that Tim Wakefield has been moved out of the starting rotation and shifted back to the bullpen.

Fellow pitcher Josh Beckett will be activated from the disabled list and start Friday against the Mariners at Safeco Field, which means Wakefield will throw his knuckleball as a reliever.

Francona spoke with Wakefield on Wednesday about the move.

“He didn’t want to hug me,” Francona said. “We do what’s best for the team. When guys don’t like it, or don’t understand it, we try to explain it to them. It’s no different with Wake than it is with anybody else. We’ve known Wake a long time and we know what he’s accomplished, but regardless of who you are, we try to have the same attitude. We put the team first.”

Wakefield tossed a bullpen session Thursday and when he was done throwing he did not want to talk about the move even though he knew it was coming.

“No comment,” he said.

Wakefield allowed seven runs (six earned) on eight hits in only two-plus innings against the Athletics on Tuesday in Oakland.

“If we need him again [in the rotation], which I have no doubt we will, some of how we use Wake will be determined how everybody else does. He’s probably not a situational guy.”