After Bard's scheduled Sunday start against the Yankees was postponed due to rain, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine elected to skip the right-hander's turn in the rotation and start Jon Lester on Monday.
To keep Bard's arm active, Valentine could use the 26-year-old in late-inning relief — a role he thrived in for Boston from 2009 to 2011 — in the upcoming series against Minnesota.
"I'd like to use him if we have a lead in the eighth inning, just as he's been comfortable doing in the past," Valentine said. "Maybe bailout in the seventh."
Once the series with the Twins ends, Bard is slated to make his next scheduled start Friday against the White Sox.
On the heels of the bullpen's collapse against the Yankees, Valentine didn't completely commit to Bard's status as a starter.
"As the plan is now, he's our fifth starter," Valentine said.
When asked if he contemplated sliding Bard into the bullpen full-time after the bullpen's sputtering start, Valentine said "there was some thought of that" during his conversations with general manager Ben Cherington and owner John Henry.
In Bard's last start for the Red Sox on April 16, he tossed 6 2/3 innings and surrendered just one run against the Rays while striking out seven. He also walked seven.
Have a question for Didier Morais? Send it to him via Twitter at @DidierMorais or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
