BOSTON -- There were only a few people in the stands, mostly ballpark personnel, and the grounds crew was tending to its chores at Fenway Park when Jonathan Papelbon turned in his most important outing in a month.

The rookie right-hander threw a total of 20 pitches to Dustin Pedroia, David Murphy and Ken Huckaby.

It doesn't sound like much, but for Papelbon, on the shelf since grabbing his right shoulder in pain after delivering a pitch on Sept. 1, and for the Boston Red Sox, it provided a glimpse of not only of his present health status, but his future.

And the session couldn't have gone better.

Papelbon was enthused after facing hitters for the first time since his abbreviated outing against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway.

"I felt great. I could have thrown 40 more (pitches)," said Papelbon.

The idea of the workout was not to prepare Papelbon for an appearance today, in the regular-season finale against Baltimore. The idea was to give the pitcher and the organization some peace of mind heading into the offseason that all is well and that he'd be able to follow a workout plan designed to strengthen his shoulder. Papelbon's injury was diagnosed as a partial dislocation.

He'll head back home to Mississippi, preparing to leave his closer's role for a spot in the rotation next season because the Red Sox and their training staff feel that in that role he will be less likely to suffer a recurrence of the injury.

"It was huge, man. I was just worrying about throwing strikes. I didn't even think about my arm. And I threw everything, fastballs, splits and sliders," said Papelbon.

"Now I can mentally shut it down and go into the offseason and when it's time to get back to getting ready, I can go no-holds-barred," said the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder.

Manager Terry Francona was one of a horde of Red Sox personnel monitoring Papelbon's session, joined from the pitching-coach side by Dave Wallace, Al Nipper and Ralph Treuel as well as the training staff.

"He did great," said Francona. "For him going into the offseason knowing he's healthy is huge for him, for us and for next year. He'll go into the offseason feeling good about himself. At least we accomplished that."

Papelbon certainly accomplished a lot in his first full big-league season. He was 3-1 with a 2.65 earned-run average in 17 games, three of them starts, for Boston a year ago, offering promise for the 2006 season, which he delivered.

Thrust into the closer's role on April 5, in the Sox' second game of season, because of Keith Foulke's health issues, Papelbon thrived, becoming Mr. Automatic. He was unscored upon in his first 14 outings, totaling 15 1/3 innings, going 10-for-10 in save chances along the way.

By the end of the first half, Papelbon had been scored upon in only three of his 40 appearances, totaling 46 innings, his earned-run average a microscopic 0.59. He had 47 strikeouts and 26 saves in 29 chances, including 20 in a row before his first blown one. Papelbon rivaled the Yankees' famed closer, Mariano Rivera, for power and dominance.

But as the outings piled up, so did concern that too much wear and tear was being heaped on his broad shoulders. He went through a couple of dead-arm periods, a trend that continued into the second half.

Papelbon's work load lessened, in part due to the Sox' struggles that left fewer games to save, but also because the Sox were concerned about burning him out.

His earned run average in the second half still was outstanding, 1.61 for 22 1/3 innings, but Papelbon also was a little less dominant, failing to record saves in three of his last eight opportunities, finishing 35 for 41 with a 4-2 record and a 0.92 E.R.A. that will have him right in the hunt for rookie of the year.

But his closing days likely are behind him for now.

Francona said many factors have been discussed as to whether to bring Papelbon back as a closer for 2007 or to put him in the rotation. As the offseason dawns, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Papelbon will start in 2007, allowing him to strengthen his body for an outing every fifth day as opposed to the uncertainty and frequency of appearances out of the bullpen.

"Whether he starts or relieves has to do with his long-term health," said Francona. "Another thing to look at is how can he best help this team. I could put up a big argument for him staying in the bullpen as awesome as he's been. But looking down the road for long-term production, starting (may be best for Papelbon's health)."

skrasner@projo.com /(401) 277-7340