If the Red Sox decide to be buyers at the upcoming trade deadline, starting pitching is their most obvious need.
Between the beginning and end of June, they placed Chris Sale, Tanner Houck, and Garrett Whitlock on the injured list. Corey Kluber was demoted to the bullpen before he, too, joined the ranks on the sidelines.
In their absence, the Red Sox have made do with a skeleton crew. James Paxton, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford comprise the current rotation; the rest of the games are being handled by the bullpen, anchored by Nick Pivetta, who’s thriving in a long relief role.
But with no guarantee as to what they’ll get from Sale, Houck, and Whitlock at such times as they are able to return to action, if the Red Sox decide to make a genuine push for the playoffs, they’ll need to add another arm to the rotation.
Perhaps an old friend?
A homegrown (sort of) champion whose name is all over the trade rumors?
Eduardo Rodriguez?
It’s been nearly a decade since the Red Sox acquired Rodriguez from the Orioles at the 2014 deadline, back when he was Baltimore’s No. 3 prospect. The Venezuelan native made his Major League debut on May 28, 2015, pitching 7 2/3 scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers.
Rodriguez was coming off two stellar seasons when he got sick with COVID-10 in July 2020. He was diagnosed with myocarditis, a heart condition likely caused by the coronavirus, at the end of that month, and missed the entire shortened season. Over six seasons in Boston (not including 2020), he compiled a 4.16 ERA, 3.83 FIP, and 1.313 WHIP over 159 regular-season games, including 153 starts.
Following the 2021 season, Rodriguez signed with the Detroit Tigers for five years and $77 million. His contract includes an opt-out after the third season, making him an intriguing trade chip for his current team, who entered Thursday 43-52, third in the milquetoast American League Central.
The 30-year-old left-hander is in the midst of his best season. Over 14 starts, he owns a 2.69 ERA and .0968 WHIP, the most impressive marks of his career thus far.
The newly-expanded playoff format (the Wild Card increased from two teams per league to three last year under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement) ensures that more teams will be in the postseason hunt than ever, and seeking the services of reliable starting pitchers. To that end, it’s worth noting that Rodriguez struggled in Boston’s postseason rotation. Between 2017-21, he pitched in 11 postseason games, but his managers didn’t use him as a starter until Game 4 of the 2018 World Series, his eighth career postseason game. Over four career postseason starts (18 1/3 innings) between ’18 and ’21, he allowed 11 earned runs on 14 hits, including two home runs, walked four, and struck out 20.
Rodriguez has also maintained his commitment to the Tigers, telling the Detroit News, “I signed the contract with the Tigers to stay here and play here,” adding “Right now, I am here.”
On the off-chance that Rodriguez ends up back in Boston, he’ll find a very different team than the one he left. When he signed with the Tigers, he told reporters that he’d especially miss Xander Bogaerts, Christian Vázquez, and Rafael Devers, whom he said were “like brothers to him.” Of the three, only Devers remains.
Rodriguez also hasn’t sounded too pleased with how his negotiations with his former club played out. The Red Sox made him a qualifying offer, but never came close to matching Detroit’s deal; the pitcher later suggested that his longtime organization hadn’t made him feel wanted.
“I’ll be honest with you. Do you prefer 18 or 77?” He asked reporters in his Tigers introductory press conference, referencing the qualifying offer and his Detroit contract.
“We were fighting our emotions on this one of what we thought was the right use of our resources and how far to extend,” Chaim Bloom told reporters. “There are deep roots here, and that made it harder to see him go. But ultimately it’s something where we’re happy for him and we have to be comfortable with how far we’re willing to extend.”
How far they’re willing to extend is also the burning question now, as the trade deadline looms.
After taking two of three from the Red Sox this week, the Oakland A’s decided to take something else, too. Shortly after the Wednesday’s series finale, the A’s claimed Tayler Scott off waivers.
The 31-year-old right-hander began the season with the Los Angeles Dodgers after signing a minor league contract with them in January. They designated him for assignment and dealt him to Boston in late June.
Scott pitched in four games, including one start, for the Red Sox before they, too, DFA’ed him earlier this week. Over 3 2/3 innings in a Red Sox uniform, he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits, including a home run, walked four, and struck out two. He also hit a batter and threw one wild pitch.
Kutter Crawford and James Paxton will start the first and second games of this weekend’s New York Mets series, with Sunday’s finale starter still TBD.