Rich Hill recaps his showcase
The Red Sox have overcome plenty throughout the 2024 season. It is a big part of this feel-good story as they have evolved into postseason contenders.
Trevor Story. Lucas Giolito. Triston Casas. Garrett Whitlock.
Those key players - along with some other walking wounded along the way - have forced the Red Sox into Plan B, C, D and E. One after another elicited beliefs that there would be no way the Sox could recover, yet they have managed.
This one subtly feels a bit different.
While Craig Breslow attempted to fortify the roster with the additions of right-handed bat Danny Jansen, along with late-inning relievers Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia, it was the acquisition of James Paxton which might have represented the most important move of all.
Paxton certainly wasn't going to be viewed as a top-of-the-rotation option, but he was the kind of player the Red Sox quickly learned they had the biggest need for - a somewhat reliable starter. It might not have been the priority a month ago, but it sure has become that reality in the first few weeks of August.
Through the first two months of the season, the Red Sox' starters totaled the fifth-best ERA in all of baseball. Since then they have the 8th-worst. And since the trade deadline, the Sox' starting pitchers' ERA stands at a combined 6.00, with only three teams worse.
That's where Paxton was supposed to come in.
While Tanner Houck and KutterCrawford were navigating their way through unchartered innings territory, and Nick Pivetta and Brayan Bello desperately attempted to lock in the better version of themselves, the lefty was going to serve as the anchor. Sunday, the Red Sox lost their anchor.
Just five pitches into his third start with the Red Sox, Paxton induced a grounder to first base off the bat of Yordan Alvarez. But after taking a few steps toward first, the southpaw pulled up, ultimately dropping to one knee without the use of his right leg.
It was determined that Paxton - who was helped off the field by manager Alex Cora and trainer Brandon Henry - had a strained right calf, and would be undergoing an MRI to see the severity of his ailment.
"It just felt like I got kicked in the calf," Paxton said. "Then I kind of turned around, took another step and felt it again, and I was like, 'Oh, it’s not good.'"
While the Red Sox have faced this kind of adversity throughout the past six months, this predicament doesn't seemingly have any kind of turn-key solution.
Cooper Criswell is still recovering from Covid. Josh Winckowski might be an option if they make the commitment to stretching him out as a starter. And some of the other starters on the 40-man roster - such as Brad Keller and Quinn Priester - haven't seemingly offered the kind of consistency lately in Triple-A which would pave the way for a commitment. (Although Keller held his own in a four-inning stint Saturday against the Astros, in which he struck out six and gave up three runs.)
Another option might be free agent Rich Hill, who performed in front of a few scouts Friday - including one from the Red Sox - throwing more than 100 pitches. Hill's intentions are to pitch in the majors sometime in the final two months after taking the first four-plus months to coach his 12-year-old son's youth baseball team.
When the Paxton injury took place, Hill was beginning his journey to Cooperstown for a youth baseball tournament, having received some interest from teams but not firm offers.
The 44-year-old pitched for Pittsburgh and San Diego in 2023, making 27 starts. He received three major league offers this past offseason, choosing instead to prioritize his son's season.
The point is that the timing couldn't have been worse, with the Red Sox handcuffed by a trade deadline that has come and gone.
It does offer the notion that perhaps the Red Sox should have prioritized adding starters more than they did at the deadline. Michael Lorenzen was dealt to the Royals, and has one really good start and one in which he lasted just 4 1/3 innings. Zach Eflin has been outstanding in his three appearances with the Orioles. Eric Fedde bounced back from a rough debut with the Cardinals to turn in a six-inning, one-run gem his last time out. And Yusei Kikuchi? He has allowed two runs in each of his two starts for Houston, going more than five frames in each.
What's done is done. Now the Red Sox have to figure out what to do.
This one doesn't seem to have any easy answers.