While the Boston Red Sox have one of the best lineups in baseball, the back of their rotation has been a problem. As trade season nears, the Sox will need to address their pitching if they hope to run away with the AL East.
After starting the season on a monstrous offensive run, the Boston Red Sox have cooled off in the past few weeks – largely due to the back-end of their starting rotation. While David Price is finally living up to his massive contract, Steven Wright is en route to the All-Star game and Rick Porcello is enjoying a rebound from last season, the fourth and fifth starters have been major question marks.
Eduardo Rodriguez returned nearly a month ago and was hailed as the savior to the rotation, but has yet to assert himself as a mid-to-top of the rotation starter, while Clay Buchholz has been a disaster all season long. While the Sox have tried letting Joe Kelly, Henry Owens and Roenis Elias get cracks at the rotation, none have been able to pitch well enough to earn extended looks.
At 39-32 and two games behind the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox will need to make a serious move with the pitching staff if they hope to capitalize on their dominant offense.
At the same time, the left field position has become a question mark with the streaky Chris Young and an injury to Blake Swihart. A trade for a backup outfielder may be in order if Swihart can’t return in due time.
Here’s a preview of moves the Red Sox could make that would improve the team down the stretch.
Next: Back of the Rotation Troubles