A week ago, the idea that the Red Sox would need to make a run at a starting pitcher seemed outrageous. They had enough. Steven Wright and Drew Pomeranz were coming back, and the rotation was already four-deep with Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez.
Well, times have changed.
Wright looks to be further and further from a return due to his balky knee. Pomeranz is still searching for results at Triple-A. And Rodriguez has now suffered a serious ankle injury that is going to put his reliability at any point this season in some doubt.
It's time to take a look at some other options.
While Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez certainly have held their own, there may be a need for something more if the price is right. (And that is the key element of this whole thing, making sure we aren't talking about paying too much.) With that in mind, there are names to consider, all playing in the last year of their contract.
If you want to go with the wily veteran there is Texas' Cole Hamels. The problem here is that he has been a shell of himself, totaling a 5.51 ERA in his last nine starts, and a 9.53 mark in his last four.
The Blue Jays' J.A. Happ is probably the biggest name available, but he also hasn't been that great lately, as we witnessed in his 3 2/3-inning, five-run start at Fenway Park last week. In July Happ's ERA stands at 9.75 over three starts, totaling just 12 innings.
Tyson Ross of the Padres was a hot name for a while, but there has always been some skepticism as to if his stuff would play in the American League. The righty has also struggled mightily in two of his three starts this month.
Tampa Bay's Nathan Eovaldi is somewhat intriguing, but not so much to prioritize paying a steep price to bump out pitchers who might already be able to function as well as he has. And while his velocity is up, and recently went on an impressive three-start run (19 innings, 2 runs), his last outing before the break was a 2 2/3-inning, eight-run stinker against Minnesota.
That brings us to Matt Harvey.
The righty (and being a right-hander in this equation doesn't hurt, either) has turned his season around with the Reds since exiting New York. He might not be the dominant pitcher so many predicted he would represent heading into free agency, but Harvey has been pretty good, not allowing more than three runs in any of his last six starts while compiling a 2.38 ERA over that stretch. This month, he has found great success of late with a decent four-seam fastball (averaging just under 95 mph and a .100 batting average against) and really effective slider (.174 batting average against, one extra-base hit).
And we know he isn't going to shy away from the big stage. Not only did Harvey offer some memorable postseason moments, but he has only allowed three runs in 21 2/3 innings against the Yankees.
If the price is right (and that's a big "if") Harvey just might be the right guy at the right time.