Red Sox: Pitching Market Taking Shape
By Blake Yagman
Fresh off of their third straight loss, the Boston Red Sox head into Sunday’s series finale looking for answers. Although the Sox are still in first place in the American League East, questions about the team’s pitching staff still linger.
The Red Sox will benefit greatly from the addition of last season’s ace, Eduardo Rodriguez. The young lefty will make his first start on Tuesday against the second-place Baltimore Orioles. However, the team may seek upgrades in both the bullpen and starting rotation in the near future.
Various pitching issues may hasten the Sox’ pursuit of additional arms. Over the past few days, Clay Buchholz was removed from the rotation entirely and Carson Smith underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery. Luckily for General Manager Dave Dombrowski, the starting pitching trade market has developed substantially over the past two days.
Multiple outlets have reported that the San Diego Padres are looking to sell off two starting pitchers: “Big Game” James Shields and Drew Pomeranz.
James Shields, former Tampa Bay Ray and teammate of David Price, has been a target of the Red Sox in the past. Shields has been reported as being the centerpiece to trade talks between San Diego and the Chicago White Sox. The 34-year-old righty has a 3.06 ERA thus far in the 2016 campaign, and has had success against American League East teams in the past.
Drew Pomeranz is the more intriguing of the two starters. Pomeranz, a former first round pick by Cleveland, is only 27 years old and has a nearly non-existent 1.70 ERA. Pomeranz may demand more of a return than Shields, however, because he is contractually under team control for the next two seasons.
Aside from Shields and Pomeranz, keep an eye on the Detroit Tigers. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus is currently on the hot seat, and Detroit may look to trade off a few of its assets. Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski spent almost 13 years with Detroit; his familiarity with Detroit’s pitching gives the Sox a unique advantage in scouting. If Tigers were looking to sell, they would first move veteran pitching. Justin Verlander, anyone?
Justin Verlander may be just the asset the Tigers look to unload: he has a ton of money left on his contract ($112 million through 2019). Verlander’s vicious 95+ MPH fastball and disappearing curveball may be just what the Red Sox need to reinvigorate the starting rotation. Verlander, like Shields, is a former rotation mate of David Price.
Thus far in the 2016 campaign, the former Cy Young winner has tabbed only four wins through ten starts; however, Verlander’s strike out numbers (9.7 K/IP) are some of the best of his career. Verlander’s win totals could use a nice, healthy serving of the Red Sox offense.
Finally, the Red Sox may look to the AL West for starting pitching. The Oakland Athletics’ (21-27) general manager Billy Beane is notorious for flipping his assets when the team fails to compete. Athletics’ starter Sonny Gray was a favorite trade-target of Boston media this winter, however his 6.19 ERA has cooled speculation.
The Athletics do have another interesting starting pitching option: former Red Sox lefty Rich Hill. Hill, the ace of Oakland’s 2016 rotation, has pitched better than any of Boston’s starters: he has a 7-3 record with 65 strikeouts and 2.18 ERA. Hill could be the perfect fit for the Red Sox; further, Oakland would likely look for less of a return than Detroit or San Diego.
The Red Sox stated this week that they would be willing to take on additional contracts in order to pursue winning; hopefully, this translates to Boston acquiring pitching depth. Keep it locked here at Chowder and Champions, your source for Red Sox coverage.