Boston Red Sox: Team loses another starting pitcher

The Boston Red Sox have already lost David Price and Chris Sale and now they have another starting pitcher who has decided to opt out of the 2020 season.

2020 has just been a great season for the Boston Red Sox. Just when it seems things can’t get any worse, they somehow manage to.

Entering Spring Training, Boston already lost David Price as he was apart of the Mookie Betts trade with the LA Dodgers. Then as Spring Training progressed, the team lost Chris Sale for the season after he got hurt.

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Then of course the season was put on hold. We have been waiting for baseball for months now and this week it will return. Nathan Eovaldi will be the opening day starter as Eduardo Rodriguez missed some time due to the coronavirus.

E-Rod was slated to be the ace now that Sale is done for the season. Missing him will be a big loss especially after his performance last season. He had a 19-6 record with a 3.81 ERA and 213 strikeouts.

The starting rotation was already skating on thin ice. Now the depth at the position took another hit. Collin McHugh has opted out of the 2020 season.

The Red Sox signed McHugh in the offseason in an effort to bolster their pitching staff. He had an elbow procedure that he was trying to recover from but due to a slow recovery, McHugh believes he is better off sitting out.

Now of course players should be able to decide if they want to play or not. It’s a decision that is completely up to them.

But this puts the Red Sox in a tough spot. Heading into opening day, it looks like Martin Perez will be your No.2 starter. That is rather telling seeing that Perez went 10-7 with a 5.12 ERA.

The Red Sox will be heavily reliant on their bats. Guys like Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, and J.D. Martinez will need to show up each and every game.

If Boston gets off to a rough start it could be a long season even though it’s only 60 games. They could have one of the worst rotations in recent team history.

So the Red Sox’s starting rotation is now even thinner and that doesn’t make 2020 a promising season for Sox fans.