BOSTON — Tim Wakefield was dropped from the ALDS roster Tuesday, the day before the series began. He’s been battling some inflammation behind his right shoulder and received a cortisone shot in the area last Sunday.

“I’m not pain-free,” said Wakefield, “but it’s tolerable.”

The Red Sox consulted with Wakefield when it came to the roster issue. One of the overriding concerns was a new rule that stipulates that if a player is taken off the active roster during a series, he must sit out the entire following series, too.

Eventually, both the Sox and Wakefield came to the same conclusion: it was better to skip the first series and get healthy rather than miscalculate and miss both.

“It [stinks],” Wakefield said, “but it’s the right thing to do. I’m glad I was able to take part in the discussion. They showed me some respect. They wanted me to be on the roster, but because I couldn’t [pitch], it didn’t make any sense to do that.”

Wakefield first felt some discomfort in the shoulder in mid-August. He made two more starts before being shut down in the final days of the month. After missing one start and getting a cortisone shot, he returned, but yesterday said he wasn’t close to healthy for his September starts.

smcadam@projo.com