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June 9, 2007
Side-arming left-hander Javier Lopez was sweating thing out a bit, knowing the Red Sox were going to activate veteran reliever Mike Timlin in time for tonight's game against the Diamondbacks.
And, as he looked around the bullpen, Lopez was smart enough to realize that he was the only one who had options remaining, meaning Boston could send him to Pawtucket without having to make any roster move with a more veteran reliever.
But that didn't happen. The Sox designated left-hander J.C. Romero for assignment after last night's game, sparing Lopez from being shipped back to Pawtucket. That decision was made because Lopez has been doing a solid job in his second stint with the Boston this season.
"Obviously that would have been the easy decision," said Lopez. "They felt I've been contributing, which is a positive thing for me. Hopefully I can take advantage of (being kept on the team)."
Not that Lopez, who is 1-0 with a 3.21 earned-run average, is gloating about the situation.
"I've been on the other side of this. I've been designated. It's not fun. It's not easy to take. This was one of those things. We knew Timlin was coming back. We knew they had to do something. But I can't be too excited at someone else's misfortunate," he said.
Romero was 1-0 with one save and a 3.15 E.R.A. in 23 games. Manager Terry Francona said general manager Theo Epstein had been trying to swing a deal for Romero.
"Theo had spoken to some teams but couldn't get to the finish line so he had to designate him," said Francona.
The team has 10 days to either trade him or offer him the option of being kept in the organization's minor-league system, a request Romero would have the option of declining, at which point he would become a free agent.
-- Steven Krasner
Posted by Steven Krasner 
at 7:26 PM | Permalink
