SARASOTA, Fla. -- When the offseason began, the Boston Red Sox's top priority was finding a reliever to pitch the eighth inning.
Now, as Opening Day beckons, the need has arisen all over again.
Already racing against the calendar to be ready for the start of the season, reliever Tyler Thornburg was scratched from a scheduled appearance here Monday against the Baltimore Orioles because of a spasm in his upper right trapezius. Thornburg has not pitched in a major league spring training game since March 1 because of weakness in his right shoulder, and the latest setback all but guarantees he will open the season on the disabled list.