Westmoreland tweeked his shoulder a bit and he won't get to see action in the final days of the season. Nothing serious, just a precaution.

Ryan Westmoreland's initial trip into professional baseball temporarily has been put on hold.

The Red Sox fifth round draft choice, who received a $2 million signing bonus, will not report to the Gulf Coast League Red Sox nor the Lowell Spinners, after the Major League baseball team's medical staff noted some minor shoulder weakness during a physical exam.

It was surmised the weakness may be due to an over compensation of shoulder use while protecting an elbow strain Westmoreland had during the high school season. That and the fact Westmoreland played a lot of games in a short period of time at the end of summer ball.

Since the seasons for both teams Westmoreland was to have reported to were about to end, the club made the conservative decision to have the player wait to participate in baseball activities until late September when Instructional League begins.


Westmoreland will work on a strengthening program to get him ready for that league which lasts through October. The program will be done here, with periodic visits to Boston for progress evaluation.