A month ago, the Boston Red Sox were amidst a historic 21-4 run, and a large part of that was the team's dominant starting pitching. After a trade deadline that saw the departure of promising left-hander Connolly Early, along with a pair of premier prospects in Kyson Witherspoon and Anthony Eyanson, the organization is suddenly short on starting pitching.
Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, and plenty of uncertainty
One of the team's bright spots, not only this season but hopefully in seasons to come, is Payton Tolle. Through 20 starts, the 23-year-old rookie has been a revelation, boasting an 8-6 record with a 2.97 ERA.
Coming into the season, Tolle was slated for the back end of Boston's rotation, with a trio of high-profile all-star pitchers leading the rotation: Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suarez. But the injury bug has bitten the trio. Crochet has not made an appearance since going down with an injury on April 25th, and Suarez is trying to regain form after an IL stint with a groin strain.
While Gray has put together an outstanding year, setting a career high in wins with 15, to pair with a 2.65 ERA, Boston needs more certainty behind him and Tolle to build off last season's Wild Card appearance.
The Red Sox have an overworked bullpen
After Tolle and Gray, the rest of the rotation has been solid but has scuffled as of late. Ranger Suarez has a 3.25 ERA and 110 strikeouts across 108 innings, but he has not gone longer than six innings in a start since May. Jake Bennett, the team's fourth starter, has gone 1-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three August starts. While he has only thrown 80 2/3 innings this season, it is also his rookie season, and he may be hitting a rookie wall.
As a result, the team has explored bullpen games with starting pitcher turned reliever Brayan Bello getting the bulk of the innings out of the pen, where he has a 0.85 ERA in 11 appearances.
While Bello has been lights out since the transition, penciling in a bullpen day every time through the rotation in August is a signal of how thin Boston's rotation has become and places the burden directly on the bullpen. This wear and tear on the bullpen is starting to show, as this week both Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock were placed on the IL.
Tolle’s performance gives Red Sox Nation plenty to be excited about for both 2026 and the future. But one rookie ace cannot carry a 13-man pitching staff on his back down the stretch. If Boston’s rotation can’t deliver quality length, the Red Sox risk watching another promising campaign slip away before October arrives.
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