Carlos Silva

Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox were aware of a pre-existing condition with Carlos Silva’s shoulder when they signed him to a minor league contract in January.

Silva underwent an MRI last year which showed a slight tear in his labrum. He was able to make it through his offseason rehab and throwing program without a hitch, but the issue cropped up again after he exerted himself during recent batting practice sessions. The 32-year-old is currently sidelined with shoulder inflammation and should be considered a long shot to contend for a rotation spot at this point.

Carlos Silva has been shut down indefinitely due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder.

Not that he had much of a chance to begin with, but Silva is now out of the running for the final spot in the Red Sox starting rotation and seems all but certain to debut this season in the minor leagues. The 32-year-old righty didn’t make a single major league appearance last year.

Updating an earlier item, Carlos Silva has reported to Red Sox camp and Alfredo Aceves is expected to report later Sunday.

An earlier report suggested both pitchers would be late arrivals, but obviously that’s not the case. They’ll both be competing this spring for a spot in the Red Sox rotation.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said Sunday that both Alfredo Aceves and Carlos Silva could be late arrivals to spring training.

Valentine joked that Silva, who lives in Minnesota, is “having a tough time getting out of the Midwest.” Aceves is coming from his native Mexico. It’s not a huge deal if they only miss a handful of days, but both pitchers are competing for a rotation spot, and they’re not exactly giving new manager Valentine a good first impression.