In time, the Red Sox hope Justin Masterson can do for their bullpen what Burke Badenhop did last season, namely use his sinking fastball to get valuable ground balls and double plays.
For now, though, their goals for Masterson are more modest.
"We've got to get him acclimated first," manager John Farrell said today after announcing the Red Sox activated Masterson from the disabled list and optioned knuckleballer Steven Wright to Triple-A Pawtucket. "Ideally it would be to come in and start a clean inning. We'll see where things go from there.