They'll definitely be without John Lackey, who was scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on Tuesday, and they're also preparing to start the season without Daisuke Matsuzaka.
The 31-year-old righty underwent Tommy John surgery himself last June, and Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington confirmed Tuesday that Matsuzaka won't be ready for Opening Day.
"Dice won't be ready to start season but is making good progress," Cherington wrote on the team's official Twitter page. "We'll create rotation competition and have some internal candidates [to fill the rotation]."
The Red Sox currently have Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz set to be in the rotation. Buchholz will be looking to get back on the healthy track after missing the final three months of the season due to back problems. Veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is a free agent.
Cherington also said the team will be busy interviewing managerial candidates in the immediate future.
"We interviewed Pete Mackanin [Monday], we'll meet w Dale Sveum [Wednesday] and there will be other candidates as well," Cherington said. "I look forward to getting to know the candidates better and finding the right person to lead our team in 2012 and beyond."
