BOSTON -- Red Sox starting pitcher David Price didn't throw for the third straight day Friday due to general stiffness in his left arm.
Price is dealing with his second elbow injury this season and last pitched for Boston on July 22.
"He's going through treatment right now," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "The other day I said he felt a little stiff during his throwing. That still exists so we're not going to push to the point where this ends up being maybe a little bit more, so we're holding off right now."
There's no timetable for Price to return to the Red Sox, but it won't be before September. Price hasn't thrown off a mound since going back on the disabled list on July 28.
"We can't rush it," said Farrell. "We have to do what's best and what's right for David Price."
Do the Red Sox still think Price can be a factor down the stretch?
"There's still hope to do that, but I think we're also realistic here, too, that he's got to build up to an aggressive long-toss situation, not in terms of overall distance, but number of throws with some aggression and build-back to the mound," said Farrell. "That's still going to take some time. Like I said, I don't have a return date at all."
Farrell said that there are no current plans for Price to seek a second opinion.
Doug Fister, who is in line to pitch again Monday night in Cleveland, will continue to hold down Price's spot in the rotation. Even without Price, the Red Sox have received strong starting pitching from the quartet of Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, Thomas Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez.
"Yeah, and I don't think we've thought about going outside or bringing somebody up from [Triple-A] Pawtucket to replace anybody in the rotation thus far," said Farrell. "Our focus has been doing whatever we can to get David back, and we haven't abandoned that yet."
Worth noting
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia is starting to build some momentum in his recovery from a left knee injury that led to him going on the disabled list twice in the last month.
"He's improving," said Farrell. "The strength and conditioning that he's going through, along with treatment, there's been some really good strides made over this past week. We're hopeful that baseball activities are coming in the early part of this coming week. He'll remain here in Boston while we go to Cleveland."