A Limit to His Abilities
Eduardo Rodriguez will begin the season in the number five slot, and there is a reason for cautious optimism.
The lefty has been groomed for several years but has been inconsistent over his first three seasons. 2015 saw him post a 3.85, which ballooned to 4.71 the following season. He rebounded last year, somewhat, by posting a more-than-respectable-for-a-fifth-starter 4.19.
That leaves Eduardo facing several questions. For instance, which version will the Sox get this year? Does this give Boston too many lefties? Rodriguez threw his most MLB innings last season, 137. How many can he pitch this season, and how will the Sox’ plan to manage that affect their rotation?
That has become a lot more relevant as RHP Steven Wright seems less likely to start the season healthy, as the Boston Herald and Chad Jennings recently pointed out:
"Less encouraging news on Steven Wright, who seemed to be a candidate for the Opening Day roster when camp opened, but who still has not faced hitters this spring. Wright had more extensive knee surgery last season. “He’s having good days and bad days,” Cora said.” Wright is no longer on course to break camp with the team."
If the Sox can get the Wright of 2016, when he posted 156 IP to a 3.33 ERA, their rotation will be so much better and more in-depth. But will they? He is already taking longer to rebound than expected. Or maybe it should have been supposed as he is 33.