BOSTON — The tour of New England continues for rehabbing Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie, who abandoned his plans to play with Double-A Portland Wednesday night in favor of playing with the short-season Lowell Spinners.

"That poor kid. He's going to play in Lowell [Wednesday night]. He's racking up some miles," manager Terry Francona said.

In a procedural move, the Red Sox activated Lowrie from the 60-day disabled list and then optioned him to Lowell. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, injured outfielder Jonathan Van Every was designated for assignment. It's expected Lowrie will rejoin Pawtucket on Thursday.

Lowrie has spent the last month trekking from one Red Sox minor-league affiliate to another in an effort to stay ahead of the persistent rain and get himself in some rehab games to become comfortable with his surgically repaired wrist. He played with Pawtucket for much of June, but missed a number of games after he was hit by a pitch on the knee.

When he was healthy, Pawtucket was rained out day after day, so Lowrie joined up with Portland. Then on Wednesday, the Sea Dogs were in danger of a rainout as well, so Lowrie headed off to Lowell to join the 20-year-olds playing for the Spinners.

"We'll get him down to Lowell to make sure he gets some at-bats. We're just trying to get this kid to play a game," Francona said.

Lowrie had hoped to return before the All-Star break, but that timetable has been pushed back due to the injuries and the rain issues. His rehab was set to officially end Friday, necessitating the move from the disabled list to the active roster, and then the option to the minor leagues.

Lowrie is 5-for-19 in seven rehab games so far. He was 1-for-18 in major league games this season before undergoing surgery.

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If the Red Sox had any concern that Daisuke Matsuzaka was fully committed to keeping his shoulder and his body strong, they certainly don't have to worry any more.

Matsuzaka began the training portion of his disabled list stint Monday morning at the team's spring-training facility in Fort Myers, Fla., and so far it has been like a mini-spring training. He kicked off his efforts with a shuttle-running drill, just like players at the outset of spring training, and then he moved on to short distance runs.

The Red Sox felt these were the types of endurance and strength-building drills Matsuzaka never performed when he spent much of the spring with Team Japan preparing for the World Baseball Classic.

"That was the stuff he missed when he was in the WBC," Francona said.

The Red Sox are pleased with what they've seen from Matsuzaka so far, both in the effort and in the results.

"If you think about it — you go down to Fort Myers, in the middle of July, at 7:30 in the morning, and the first day you run the shuttle, and the second day you run the mile-and-a-half? He did a good job. We're really proud of his effort," Francona said.

Matsuzaka is in the midst of his second disabled list stint of the season, officially to treat shoulder weakness. The pitcher, 28, has been ineffective so far this year, and has been replaced by John Smoltz in the rotation. There is no timetable for his return.

Right now, Matsuzaka is throwing from flat ground at a distance of 60 feet, in an effort to gradually build strength in his shoulder. When they're confident in his strength, the team will allow him to turn up the velocity.

"We're going to get him stronger before we turn him loose. Then, when we turn him loose, we're going to really turn him loose. We'll let him go," Francona said.

dbarbari@projo.com