Stop me if you’ve heard this before, the Red Sox pitchers are hot garbage. The season started out okay for the Boston starting rotation with the bullpen needing massive improvement. However, these last few weeks the starting pitchers have gotten exposed. Martin Perez was responsible for the massive 18-4 loss the Red Sox took against the red hot Toronto Blue Jays. He didn’t even make it to the second inning. Look, the Blue Jays are talented and nobody is disputing that, but that was a flat out embarrassing effort and performance.
Troubling Signs
The bullpen didn’t do much better as the rout took place and the Jays got a record eight homeruns at Fenway. Normally reliable pitchers Nathan Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Nick Pivetta have been knocked around. Garret Richards and Martin Perez had some rhythm as the season started. Since then, they have fallen back to their old ways. The Boston bats have not been able to rebound after those kind of outings from the pitchers. This is a very disturbing trend. Boston had the chance at elite pitching during the offseason. They either missed out or passed. Chris Sale is on the way back from Tommy John Surgery with a lot of uncertainty.
The overall incompetent effort of finding stable pitching is nothing new. Head of baseball ops Chaim Bloom is supposed to have a great eye for talent. When is he going to start using it and stop taking flyers on long term projects and busts?
Time for Change
Drastic measures need to start being taken. Clearly, more money needs to be spent on pitching. Since there is a long way to go until the offseason, something must be done right now. There are a few steps they can take. Second baseman and shortstop Jonathan Arauz played the entire season last year and has made some appearances in the majors this season. At 22 years old, there is a ton of potential.
With Xander Bogaerts, Christian Arroyo, and Marwin Gonzalez playing at second and shortstop regularly, Arauz has been playing mostly in Worcester. By throwing in another prospect, Boston could potentially get some pitching support out of the deal. Left Fielder Franchy Cordero may have to be packaged since he won’t command any value on his own. Cordero came over from Kansas City in exchange for Andrew Benintendi and has been a royal disappointment (pun very much intended).
There is one other option that would make Red Sox fans and members in the organization very unhappy. It involves parting ways with a young and talented player – infielder Michael Chavis. Chavis showed what he can do before getting demoted to Worcester and could be an asset to a team since can play all three bases and outfield spots. Packaging these players with a prospect or two in exchange for young pro ready pitchers and another prospect could lift both teams up significantly.
The Red Sox would need to find a team with an aging team and pitching depth in order to make this work. While it would be very hard to see Chavis go, it may be the price to pay for inept pitching decisions.
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