With a little over a week until opening day in Seattle, the Red Sox pitching staff is starting to take shape. On Monday, Alex Cora announced that Brayan Bello will be Boston’s Opening Day starter, and Nick Pivetta will pitch game two.
With Lucas Giolito out for the season, the Red Sox have some holes in their rotation. Kutter Crawford is widely assumed to be the favorite to earn the third spot, leaving Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, and Cooper Criswell as the remaining contenders for the final two spots.
Notably, Cora announced earlier this week that Josh Winckowski will return to the bullpen.
During a discussion on the “Play Tessie” podcast, WEEI/NESN’s Lou Merloni revealed what he believes the staff will look like moving forward.
“I think we’re at the point where you sort of accept the fact that they are,” Merloni said when asked if Houck and Whitlock would be the ones to round out the rotation.”
“Cora was saying at the end of last year, I remember in Baltimore, that there are some guys on this team – he said Wincowski they viewed him as a starter. And he mentioned some guys might spend some time down in triple-A that have been here for a few years. And right away, I thought, ‘They think Wincowski is a starter. They want him to be stretched out and start down at triple-A.’ It kind of almost seemed like that was going to be a plan. Another plan was also to get two starters, and they never did.”
Merloni stressed the concern of depth, mentioning outside of Bello and Pivetta, it remains to be seen how long these arms can hold up and consistently take the ball for extended innings.
“Thinking about getting through 162 with five starters, three of them you’re not sure of if they can give you length, and the sixth one being Cooper Criswell,” the former Red Sox said. “You need more starters than that.”
That’s a lesson the Red Sox learned the hard way. Last year, Boston’s arms ran out of gas due to an extensive workload and a worn-out staff. The most glaring example of that was Kyle Barraclough being left out to dry in an embarrassing 13-5 loss to the Astros last August.
The Red Sox still have time to add an arm or two before Opening Day. The obvious name is Jordan Montgomery, a player Merloni and many others believe should have been inked by the Red Sox months ago.
“I don’t know what the hell Montgomery is doing at this point, and I don’t know what the hell the Red Sox are doing at this point,” Merloni said. “There’s really no reason for him not to be here two months ago. I don’t think anyone in baseball understands why he’s not here.”
Apart from the pitching situation, Merloni and the crew also discussed the first impressions of newcomer Vaughn Grissom, Ceddane Rafaela’s expectations, and the roster-building approach by the front office.
For the full discussion, tune in to the free Audacy app or wherever you get your podcasts.
