The Boston Red Sox put together a near-dream offseason this winter. They went out and acquired Garrett Crochet in a blockbuster trade to be the team's ace. Shortly after, they signed Walker Buehler to a deal in hopes that he can turn his career back around in Boston. Both of these additions should prove to be huge for the Red Sox, especially with the American League East appearing to be wide open for the time being.
They also added Alex Bregman to the starting lineup in potentially the move of the offseason. Bregman will slot into the Red Sox's starting infield and be an impact bat for as long as he plays at Fenway Park.
But, unfortunately for Boston, the offseason can't always be all sunshine and rainbows. Recently, Boston was dealt the bad news that starting pitcher Lucas Giolito would begin the season on the injured list. Giolito recently suffered a hamstring injury, which was officially diagnosed as a hamstring strain.
This comes a few days after the Red Sox announced starter Brayan Bello wouldn't be ready to start the season either. Kutter Crawford is also unavailable to begin the year with a knee injury.
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Red Sox shouldn't overreact following disappointing Lucas Giolito injury
While the knee-jerk reaction here could be to panic, the Red Sox don't need to do that. Boston could overreact and try to bring in a veteran in free agency or through another trade, but it just wouldn't make the most sense.
Boston has Crochet, Buehler, and Tanner Houck as the top three starters. After that, they can fill the rotation out with top prospect arms Richard Fitts and Quinn Preister. Both of these pitchers have the ability to throw at the big league level right now. The Red Sox added pitching depth to their organization for this exact reason. Overreacting would defeat the entire purpose.
Fitts, 25, has dominated minor league pitching for the length of his pro ball career. He came to the big leagues and performed well last season, though, the underlying analytics would indicate he was a bit lucky. Still, the object of the game is to get outs, and Fitts did so in his 20.2 big league innings last season. He's also ticked up his velocity thus far in spring training for Boston as well.
Preister, 24, was brought over from the Pittsburgh Pirates last season. The righty looked solid in one start with the Red Sox, tossing five innings of one-run baseball in his Boston debut.