3 flaws separating the Boston Red Sox from an AL Wild Card spot
By Rylie Smith
Unfortunately, the Red Sox starters haven’t been much better
The Red Sox have some major issues in their starting rotation that have seemingly only gotten worse with time. Their best healthy pitchers, Nick Pivetta and Nathan Eovaldi, have not performed up to the expected level.
Pivetta has produced an ERA of 4.51, BAA of .252, and WHIP of 1.33. Eovaldi has produced an ERA of 4.15, BAA of .270, and WHIP of 1.26. Though they are talented, their results likely won’t lead Boston to the playoffs.
They’ve also had a lot of trouble with veteran pitcher Chris Sale the past two seasons. He’s only played 11 games in the majors between 2021 and 2022 due to injuries, and after trying to come back from a hand injury, his season was ended when he broke his wrist by falling off his bike.
In general, the Red Sox have one of the worst rotations in the league. In all of MLB, they have the sixth-worst ERA (4.35), ninth-worst opponent batting average (.250) and seventh-worst WHIP (1.31).
They didn’t take advantage of the trade deadline to improve their rotation, so it may be too late for them to do anything about it this season. However, it remains a major area of concern that could haunt them for years to come if they don’t pay attention to it.