The Red Sox have used 11 different starting pitchers this season, and they did so within their first 22 games, which is both mind-boggling and record-tying.
Boston has used the following pitchers to start games (so far) this year: Nathan Eovaldi, Martín Pérez, Colten Brewer, Ryan Brasier, Ryan Weber, Zack Godley, Austin Brice, Josh Osich, Matt Hall, Chris Mazza and Kyle Hart.
Only Eovaldi and Brasier were with Boston prior to last season; both joined the club in 2018.
Pérez signed a one-year, free-agent contract with the Red Sox in December. He had posted a 6.22 ERA with Texas in 2018 and a 5.22 ERA with Minnesota in 2019.
Brewer was obtained from the Padres for infielder Esteban Quiroz after the 2018 season. He had made just 11 relief appearances for San Diego, recording a 5.59 ERA in the process. Brewer was twice sent to Pawtucket during the 2019 season.
Weber signed a minor league contract with Boston in December 2018. He was previously waived by Atlanta, DFA'd by Seattle, and twice DFA'd by Tampa.
Godley signed a minor league deal with Boston in July of this year. He was previously DFA'd by Arizona and Toronto, and then released by Detroit.
Brice was acquired in January from the Marlins in exchange for minor league second baseman Angeudis Santos. Brice was previously waived by Cincinnati and the LA Angels, and then DFA'd by both Baltimore and Miami.
Osich was claimed off waivers last October. He had been previously DFA'd by San Francisco and Baltimore, and then waived by the White Sox.
Hall was obtained from Detroit in January for minor league catcher Jhon Nuñez. The Sox assigned him to Class-A Advanced Salem. Hall posted a 14.63 ERA over five appearances with Detroit in 2018 and a 7.71 ERA over 16 appearances in 2019.
Mazza was claimed off waivers in December and optioned to Class-A Advanced Salem. He had been released by both Minnesota and Miami, and was then DFA'd by the Mets.
Hart was drafted by the Red Sox in the 19th round of the 2016 draft. He is the only one of these 11 pitchers that was drafted and developed by the Red Sox.
None of the seven pitchers signed by Boston during the offseason or during this season provided any reasonable sense of hope or optimism. At best, they were long shots.
Eovaldi is the only one among this large group who was in Boston's starting rotation last season.
The losses of Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez have been devastating to the Sox' rotation, to say nothing of the trade of David Price to the Dodgers. When any team is reduced to one-fifth of it’s previous season’s rotation, it is in big trouble or, at least, in big transition.
Rick Porcello’s free agent departure to the Mets is a wash; the righty has gone 1-3, with a 5.76 ERA and 1.64 WHIP this season.
However, the Red Sox troubles aren’t solely related to the absences/losses of Sale, Rodriguez, Price and Porcello; they’re related to the organization’s decade-long failure to draft and develop successful starting pitchers. The last such pitcher was Clay Buchholz, who debuted all the way back in 2007.
The Red Sox inability in this regard has been both extraordinary and uncanny. This is why they've consistently resorted to signing costly free agents and trading valuable minor league talent to acquire big league pitchers through the years.
The rest of the Red Sox pitching staff is comprised by castoffs and reclamation projects.
Dylan Covey was obtained from Tampa in a July trade. He had a 6.96 ERA through 250 major league innings. Consequently, Covey was not on the Rays’ 40-man roster at the time of the trade.
Jeffrey Springs was obtained in a January trade with Texas in exchange for Sam Travis. The lefty had pitched 32 innings for the Rangers in each of the previous two seasons, posting a 4.89 ERA.
Robert Stock was claimed off waivers from the Phillies in July. At the time, Stock had a 4.11 ERA over 50 1/3 career innings as a reliever with the Padres from 2018-19. The righty, who was a second-round pick for the Cardinals in the 2009 draft, had stints in Mexico and independent baseball before making his big league debut in 2018.
Josh Taylor was acquired from Arizona in May 2018 as the "player to be named later" in the Deven Marrero trade. At the time, Taylor had been playing in Class A-Advanced.
Marcus Walden had been in the Toronto, Oakland and Minnesota organizations before signing with the Red Sox in December 2016. He made his big league debut with Boston in 2018.
Phillips Valdéz had been with the Cleveland, Washington, Texas and Seattle organizations before being claimed off waivers in February.
Is it any wonder that the Red Sox 5.89 staff ERA is the second-worst in baseball?
It’s also worth noting that the Red Sox still have the third-highest payroll in baseball this season. Clearly, they’re not getting a reasonable return on their investment.
The Red Sox are in the midst of a considerable rebuild or transition. We can assume that E-Rod will be back in the rotation next season, but Sale may not be back until mid-season. If Eovaldi and/or Pérez aren’t traded, Boston will still need two more reliable starters for its rotation next year.
It’s hard to imagine any of the pitchers mentioned above being one of them.
Among the Red Sox' top-ten prospects, according to MLB.com, five are pitchers: Bryan Mata (R), Noah Song (R), Jay Groome (L), Thad Ward (R) and Tanner Houck (R). Only Mata and Houck are advanced enough to potentially pitch in the majors next season. Yet, both remain entirely unproven at the major league level and could ultimately end up in the bullpen.
In other words, Boston still doesn’t have internal answers to its numerous pitching problems.
The failures of the Red Sox' pitching development program will continue to haunt them for at least the next few seasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment