CLEVELAND — The enemy just became family for Paul Byrd.
“I wasn’t a Red Sox fan this offseason,” Byrd said, referring to Boston’s ouster of the Tribe in last year’s ALCS. “Now for me to put on that jersey, it might take a minute.”
Byrd was dealt to the Red Sox on Tuesday for cash or a player to be named later. Boston will pick up the remainder of Byrd’s salary — around $2 million — for the rest of the season. He is a free agent this winter.
The Indians have until Jan. 15 to make a decision. GM Mark Shapiro stressed multiple times Tuesday that the potential player to be named later is of little consequence.
Shapiro, who said multiple teams were interested in Byrd, gave three main reasons for the move.
n Make room for the Tribe’s youngsters to play and be evaluated.
n Provide salary relief and “reinvest” it in other parts of the organization.
n Give Byrd the opportunity to pitch for a contender.
The 37-year-old Byrd realizes his chances at wining a World Series are dwindling, so he’s excited to join the Red Sox, who entered Tuesday leading the American League Wild Card race by two games over the White Sox and trailing the Rays in the East by four games.
“That being said, I going to miss a lot of people around here,” Byrd said. “Cleveland has been great to me.”
The Indians plan to call up someone today to take Byrd’s spot in the rotation for Thursday. That player will likely be Aaron Laffey or fellow lefty Zach Jackson, who was part of the CC Sabathia deal.
Shortly after arriving at the Tribe clubhouse around 2:30, Byrd was told by pitching coach Carl Willis to go see manager Eric Wedge.
“I was kind of ambushed,” Byrd said. “I hadn’t heard anything about anybody being interested. I hadn’t heard about the Red Sox. ... So it was kind of a surprise to me, an emotional moment.”
Byrd is just 7-10 on the season with a 4.53 ERA, but he’s won four consecutive starts and said Tuesday, “I’m as confident as I’ve ever been.”
“I told Paul the way he pitched made things come together pretty quickly,” Shapiro said. “That and the combination of some injuries.”
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