Red Sox: Stephen Curry, Updates on John Farrell, Potential Moves, and More

The Boston Red Sox will wrap up their series against the Astros tonight but unfortunately Steph Curry will be a bit busy with an NBA playoff game and won’t be able to attend this time around.

The Red Sox (8-9, 3rd AL East) southern road trip has been anything but hospitable on the field thus far. Marred by a beaning of star Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, a virus of runners left on base, and questions surrounding the job security of manager John Farrell, the Sox will look to finish out their three game series tonight against the Astros on ESPN (8 PM).

There have been, however, a few memorable moments off the field during the Sox’ time in Houston. On Friday, reigning NBA MVP and Golden State Warriors’ point guard Stephen Curry took time off from his preparation in his playoff series against the Houston Rockets to visit Big Papí and the Red Sox. And, prior to Friday’s win against Houston, the Astros presented Ortiz with a custom made black Stetson hat that would make Kevin Millar cowboy up.

Related Story: Media Losing Patience With Farrell

Tonight, the attention turns to the lanky lefty Henry Owens who will make his first start on the mound for the Red Sox in 2016. Owens takes the place of Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a right shoulder impingement. Last year, Owens made 11 starts for the Red Sox with a 4.57 ERA; Owens looks to focus on his issues with control, and will hope to neutralize the power in Houston’s righty-dominant lineup.

The Red Sox greatest problem this season, granted it is less than an eighth of the way over,  has been finding consistency from the pitching staff. The starters, aside from knuckleballer Steven Wright, have struggled mightily thus far:  David Price is historically a slow starter, Clay Buchholz is less predictable than Belichick’s draft on Thursday (stay tuned for coverage of that, of course), the jury is still out on Rick Porcello, and Eduardo Rodriguez has yet to make a start.

The bullpen, a joyous place just a short time ago, is a current crux of Red Sox angst. Whereas former Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine was a serial micromanager of the bullpen (he once pulled an uninjured reliever in the middle of an at-bat),  John Farrell holds a trust in his pitchers that borders on neglect.

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Relievers have been often unready when needed (like in yesterday’s game, when no reliever was available even though Buchholz had exceeded 100 pitches and surrendered 5 ER), overused (when Farrell had reliever William Cuevas left in the game for a third inning when he had not anticipated being ready to pitch more than two), and unavailable because of overuse.

Fortunately for John Farrell and the Red Sox, pitching reinforcements are en route. Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez has been assigned to minor league Double-A Portland and will make two starts before coming off of the disabled list. Further, relief pitcher Carson Smith will be making a few appearances at Triple-A Pawtucket before joining the major league roster.

Offensively, the Red Sox have been a juggernaut as compared to last season. The team has overcome the loss of Pablo Sandoval, replacing him nicely with Travis Shaw. The lefty Shaw, third on the Red Sox in hits, has shown tremendous poise with runners-in-scoring-position and hits left handed pitching as well as right. Further, Dustin Pedroia has returned to form and currently leads the team in hits, while right fielder Mookie Betts is one of the hottest hitters in baseball. Betts nearly hit for the cycle Friday night, and continued to hit well yesterday.

A major point of contention, although the offense has played particularly well, is the overuse of newly signed outfielder Chris Young. Farrell has shown a willingness to give Young as many opportunities as possible- even if they negatively affect the team. Yesterday, Young’s struggles and Farrell’s trust hit an impasse when the righty was removed mid-game for another right-handed hitter, Josh Rutledge. Then, Rutledge promptly served up an RBI-double off the bench. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how the Red Sox continue to give Chris Young at-bats.

Aside from the various managerial issues this season, GM Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox are a prime target for trade talks and rumors. Currently, the team boasts one of the top three farm systems in all of baseball; prospects (usually in packages) tend to make the best trade chips from most teams.

One potential trade partner could actually be this weeks opponent, the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have one of the worst teams in baseball, sans a few starting pitchers, 1B Freddie Freeman, and a few other moving pieces. Atlanta has made it clear that they are in a rebuilding stage ahead of their entrance into a new stadium next season. As the Braves are quickly plummeting to the depths of the National League, they could look to unload what few assets they still have.

Keep an eye on starting pitchers Julio Teheran and Matt Wisler. Teheran, 25, is the teams ace and was signed to a long term extension before last season; the sinker-baller would be a perfect fit for the Red Sox’ top ranked defense in the American League. In order to acquire Teheran, it would likely take a package of at-least two high level prospects. The Red Sox could also offer outfielder Rusney Castillo as part of the package; as well as another prospect such as Marco Hernandez, Andrew Benintendi, or Anderson Espinoza. The Sox would likely be disinclined, and I agree, to move Blake Swihart at the moment, because they seem committed to moving him to left field on a permanent basis.

Hopefully, Steph Curry’s luck rubs off, Xander Bogaerts is healthy enough to play tonight, and the Sox take care of business tonight in the rubber-match against the Astros. Next, the Red Sox head to Atlanta for a two game series, then back to Boston for two more.

Next: Irony of Curt Schilling Firing

Keep it locked here at Chowder and Champions while we continue to cover David Ortiz’ final season in Boston.