![]() This makes sense when you think about it – fatigue is potentially starting to set in for the starter, the hitters have had plenty of time to look at his stuff and judge the pace and break of it etc. The role was borne out of analytics which showed that a starter is at a disadvantage from a personal performance level when going through the order for the third time in a game. So who could the Red Sox employ as an opener? Step forward, Mr Darwinzon Hernandez! Embed from Getty Imagesįor those of you not familiar with the role of the opener, it is a pitcher who, unsurprisingly, opens the game but isn’t intended to pitch deep into said game. None of the three mentioned have ever posted a FIP below 4.15 in the big leagues in a season in which they reached double-digit starts.īut, what if the Sox don’t look for a fifth starter, what if they look for an opener instead? Chaim Bloom was in the Rays front office when they famously used openers, and so has experience with the approach (something Roenicke himself has alluded to when talking to the press down in Fort Myers). None of the aforementioned have really laid down a marker to suggest that they are a long-term starting rotation option. The Red Sox have a number of pitchers who have been given opportunities as starters in the past – Brian Johnson, Hector Velazquez and Ryan Weber for example. Amongst the remaining starting pitchers on the Red Sox roster, none are projected to have a WAR above 0.8. The fourth spot will, in my mind, likely go to Martin Perez, signed in free agency over the offseason (I’m basing that on the fact he’s projected to post 2.0 WAR this coming season from the Fangraphs Depth Charts – which is the highest projected WAR of any of the Red Sox starters outside Sale, E-Rod and Eovaldi).Īfter this, the picture gets somewhat cloudy, however. Specifically, who will fill the hole in that rotation left by the departure of David Price? Embed from Getty ImagesĪssuming they’re all fit then you’re probably on pretty safe ground to assume that, come Opening Day, the first three rotation spots will be filled by Chris Sale, E-Rod ( Eduardo Rodriguez) and Nathan Eovaldi (who looked good in his start against the Twins on Monday). While this approach gives everyone the chance to throw some pitches, test the arm, potentially catch the eye and be earmarked for further opportunities in, it doesn’t really give us an insight (at least at this stage) as to what Ron Roenicke has in mind with regards to the Red Sox rotation. Spring training is underway but, as is the wont for the early stages, there’s a veritable pick’n’mix of pitchers being employed with no-one pitching more than a couple of innings at a time.
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