Spot for Lowell will emerge, Epstein says!

Rehab time to help decide if third baseman stays in Boston.


BOSTON -- With Adrian Beltre now officially in the fold for the Red Sox, where does that leave Mike Lowell?

At least for the short term, things are status quo, as Lowell's primary goal at the moment is to rehab his surgically repaired right thumb.

It's a situation that Sox general manager Theo Epstein is confident will resolve itself.

"If Mike gets out on the field and shows that he's 100 percent healthy, as we expect him to be a couple of weeks into Spring Training, and starts playing well, there will be an opportunity for him -- [whether] it's here, if other players don't show up in good health, or elsewhere -- he's going to be a sought-after player," Epstein said.

"We'll probably be able to put Mike in a situation either here or elsewhere where he can make an impact on a team. If he's a little bit slower rehabbing or hasn't quite gotten back to the position where he can play regularly, then I think Mike feels like if he's going to have a complementary type role, he'd rather have it here, better in Boston than anywhere else, the way he feels about the Red Sox and the way we feel about him. I know it might look awkward from the outside, but it's a situation that will probably take care of itself as long as we stay on the same page, and we certainly are right now."

After the Beltre news conference, Epstein addressed a variety of other issues.

Is the bulk of his offseason work done?

"I think we're done with the heavy lifting," Epstein said. "There might be some fine tuning along the way. We'll see. I feel a lot better about the team now than we did during our planning for the offseason. We recognized it was a potentially difficult offseason with a potentially difficult transition. There were a lot of different ways it could go, and now that it has, we feel pretty darn good about it."

One smaller move the Red Sox made was trading Casey Kotchman for the Mariners for Bill Hall, a Minor Leaguer to be named and cash. How will Hall help the Red Sox?

"Bill Hall is someone who, for us, provides tremendous versatility, and some pop from the right side," Epstein said. "We've been looking for years now for someone who can play solid defense at a number of positions, including the outfield and the infield, and we think Bill Hall represents that for us. He's really pretty good wherever you put him on the field: third base, he's played shortstop, we think he can play some second base, he can play all three outfield positions."

The Red Sox are stacked in the starting rotation. Forget about five deep. Boston is six deep, with Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield.

Where does Wakefield -- coming off back surgery -- fit in at the moment?

"I haven't talked to him recently, not yet, but Wake, right now, again, the emphasis is on rehabbing from his surgery, establishing a timetable for his return," Epstein said.

If all six starters get through Spring Training healthy and ready for Opening Day, one pitcher might have to move to the bullpen.

"We may have to save a spot for one of the starters, if everybody is healthy at the start of the season," Epstein said. "We'll see."