This could not have been an easy day for Hideki Okajima. After four seasons as Boston's No. 1 left-handed option out of the bullpen, the one-time "hero in the shadows" was optioned Monday to Triple-A Pawtucket as the Red Sox made their final roster decisions. The Red Sox announced that Alfredo Aceves also was optioned to Pawtucket, with Dennys Reyes retained as the bullpen's only left-hander and former Oriole Matt Albers kept as a right-handed long reliever. The decisions had as much to do with contract manipulation as performance. The Red Sox have options left on Okajima and Aceves. Albers was out of options, while Reyes had an opt-out in his deal that became moot when the Red Sox on Saturday purchased his contract, which will pay him $900,000 at the major league level. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/news/story?id=6265998
