Baseball teams only go as far as their starting pitching and right now, the Boston Red Sox rotation looks perilously thin. Losing Rick Porcello and David Price, two veteran pitchers who were durable and ate a lot of innings and who both also had some stellar seasons, was a big blow for the Red Sox. The depletion of the rotation could be mitigated with a minor league system rich in pitching prospects, but unfortunately that’s not something the Red Sox have had in two decades.
While many fans are wondering how the Red Sox intend to flesh out the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation after the assumed top trio of Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Nathan Eovaldi (in that order), there has been speculation that the Red Sox may use an opener for the fifth spot instead of a traditional starter.