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Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd throws to the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning of their American League MLB baseball game in Toronto, August 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

BOSTON (Reuters) - The Boston Red Sox bolstered their injury-hit starting rotation by trading for Cleveland Indians right-hander Paul Byrd in return for a player to be named later or cash, baseball website mlb.com said on Tuesday.

Byrd will help strengthen a staff that lost knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield to the disabled list last weekend with tightness in his throwing shoulder.

The 37-year-old Byrd was 7-10 with a 4.53 earned run average this season for Cleveland, but has done his best pitching of late, going 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA in four outings since last month's All-Star break.

Byrd is expected to start on Friday in place of Clay Buchholz, who has struggled since coming back in July after a stint on the disabled list, going 0-5.

The soft-throwing Byrd was 15-8 for the Indians last season to help the Tribe reach the American League Championship Series.

(Writing by Larry Fine in New York, Editing by Trevor Huggins)