Boston Red Sox Pitching: What is Going on with the Rotation?
By Varun Tekur
The Boston Red Sox Starting Rotation Has Been An Utter Mess.
If I had told you in early April that the Red Sox were going to have the AL leader in ERA as well as a starter with a 4.68 ERA, you would have easily believed me. However, you would not have thought that the former would be a knuckleballer on a $514,000 per year contract and the latter would be a a pitcher signed to a $31 Million per year contract.
Yet, this is the current state of affairs for the Red Sox pitching rotation. Stephen Wright continues to outplay his extremely cheap contract and many other players on the pitching staff, such as David Price, continue to struggle – a fact that is more easily visible with some of Boston’s recent struggles at the plate. Here is a look at what’s wrong with the rotation, and more importantly, how it can be fixed.
What’s Wrong?
Joe Kelly gave Red Sox nation some hope when he pitched a near no-hitter in May, but he later struggled mightily and was demoted to AAA. Clay Buchholz was being hammered for most of the season before being sent to the bullpen, and was finally given a chance to proven himself recently against the White Sox. Although he didn’t pitch terribly overall, he started off the game very badly by giving up a home run and a double on the first two pitches of the game. That kind of start can create a negative atmosphere in the dugout for the rest of the game, and it certainly hurt the Red Sox in their 3-1 loss that day.
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Boston recently tried to get creative by calling up Roenis Elias to start against Seattle. He responded with a horrendous performance in which he gave up 7 earned runs in just 4 innings of work. Along with this, Sox fans have been disappointed after having high expectations for Eduardo Rodriguez. Fans, coaches, and players were expecting Rodriguez to take even more strides in the right direction this season after he finished last season off strong. Rodriguez certainly has not lived up to expectations at all, as he has a 6.41 ERA.
However, even with a 4.68 ERA, David Price has not been as bad as that number seems in recent starts. Before his latest rough start against Texas on June 24th, he had a 2.32 ERA in his June starts, which is more like the type of pitching that Red Sox nation expects from him. Also, he has been making tons of batters miss as he leads the AL in strikeouts with 110. Let’s hope that Price’s most recent start, in which he gave up 6 earned runs in just 2.1 innings, is an outlier and Price continues to pitch as he did in early and mid June.
Along with Price and Steven Wright, Rick Porcello has been quietly having a decent year of his own with an 8-2 record and a 3.93 ERA. He hasn’t been amazing, but he has been a respectable middle of the rotation guy for the Red Sox.
What can Boston do to fix this?
Even the dominant and dynamic Boston offense can’t cover up all of the team’s pitching struggles. The offense can’t be expected to score 6+ runs every night and will naturally have some cold games, which is why the Red Sox really need to solidify the rotation. Steven Wright is set for now as the #1 starter, and if Price recovers to his late May and early to mid June form, he will also be great for the pitching staff. Porcello should also be fine for the middle to back-end of the rotation. That leaves two starters as question marks, and the only visible option to fix this is via trade.
In order for the Red Sox to acquire an elite pitcher such as Jose Fernandez or Gerrit Cole, they would likely have to trade one of their franchise cornerstones (Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, and Jackie Bradley Jr.). That is just not worth it. As great as a pitcher may be, they only pitch once every 5 games, and those three everyday position players for the Red Sox are special players who have the potential to be annual all stars and should not be given up.
So, the Red Sox could instead target a lower-cost pitcher who can still pitch solid games. One option is to try and pry away Rich Hill from the Oakland Athletics. Hill played for Boston last season, so he is familiar with the team, and has been pitching very well with year with an 8-3 record and a 2.25 ERA. Since he is a veteran playing on a 1 year deal, the Red Sox should be able to get him in exchange for prospects and he can really bolster the rotation for the rest of the season and a potential run in the playoffs. Another intriguing option is to target a young pitcher with lots of upside.
One example of this type of player is Sonny Gray. Gray hasn’t been his usual self this season, as he owns a 3-6 record and a 5.20 ERA. However, he has pitched at a CY-Young level in recent years and is a young pitcher who can continue to develop. With the right package of prospects, the Red Sox can acquire Gray, who can improve this season by playing in a winning Boston environment and can be an ace for Boston for years to come.
Other options include San Diego Pitchers Drew Pomeranz and Andrew Cashner. Pomeranz has been surprisingly good this year with a 3.00 ERA and 96 strikeouts. Atlanta’s Julio Teheran is another great pitcher who the Red Sox could trade prospects for, as he is young at 25 years old and has a 2.66 ERA this season. Finally, the Red Sox could try to trade in their division and snag one of Tampa Bay’s young hurlers, such as Jake Odorizzi, Chris Archer, or Drew Smyly.
The best option for the Red Sox would be to trade for a young pitcher with potential, such as Sonny Gray, Julio Teheran, Drew Pomeranz, or Jake Odorizzi, and to also acquire a middle of the rotation starter in this deal. Could a Gray-Hill or Pomeranz-Cashner package be possible? Those types of trades would require some talented prospects in return, but fortunately, Boston has a very strong farm system.
Since the Red Sox already have lots of young talent at the major league level, they can afford to give up some top prospects like 3B Rafael Devers and OF Andrew Benintendi. They can also offer other teams Eduardo Rodriguez, who is young and has upside. I think they can pull off a package deal for a solid young pitcher and a veteran without giving up Bogaerts/Betts/Bradley Jr. or #1 prospect Yoan Moncada, and this is exactly what they should do.
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Let’s hope that Boston adds some desperately needed talent to their rotation in order to help them end the season with a bang and race into the playoffs with success.