BOSTON -- Tim Wakefield played catch for the second day in a row, but there is no decision yet as to a target date for the knuckleballer to return to active duty.

Wakefield is on the disabled list because of stiffness in the back of his right shoulder. The Red Sox certainly don’t want to rush him back too soon, especially given what happened last year, when the veteran pitcher suffered a similar injury late in the year that ultimately scratched him from the World Series roster.

“We want him to be able to come back and pitch with health. We don’t want him to go backward (by returning too soon),” manager Terry Francona said.

“We wanted to have that target date and work backwards to get him ready, but we have two days off (over the next two weeks) and we can maneuver the rotation if someone needs rest, and we don’t know that yet,” the manager said. “"We’ll figure it out.”

With Wakefield on the disabled list, the role for his designated catcher, Kevin Cash, has changed.

Cash basically has started every fifth day this year, catching Wakefield. That meant starting catcher Jason Varitek knew he’d be getting a breather on a regular basis.

Now Cash will be used in the more traditional role of backup catcher, Francona said. That is, he’ll likely start in a day game after a night game, or when Francona says Varitek needs a rest.

Francona said he would have no problem having Cash catch anyone in the rotation, but even though yesterday’s game represented one of those day-game-after-night-game situations, he wanted Varitek catching Josh Beckett.

That scenario wouldn’t have happened had the Sox not been rained out on Friday night. Buchholz would have been pitching Sunday had it not rained and Cash would have been catching. So Cash’s next starting assignment likely will be Wednesday night in Baltimore, with Buchholz on the mound.

As it was, Varitek did get some rest. With the Sox so far behind early on, Cash was brought in to replace Varitek in the fifth inning.

skrasner@projo.com