The Boston Red Sox made it abundantly clear that they aren’t happy with their current crop of pitchers. They grabbed just about every pitcher they could early on during the MLB Draft and hope that quite a few of them reach some sort of potential – whether that’s a starter or reliever. But more than just banking on future talent, the Red Sox also made it clear they don’t have any faith in Walker Buehler.
You can’t blame them there; after all, it was Buehler that had a nice NSFW way of putting a brutal stretch he endured earlier in the year. Things didn’t get much better since then. That was back in June and he’s now 6-6 with a 6.12 ERA. While he’s been solid at recording strikeouts, they’ve been inconsistent.
His ERA is the highest since his first year in MLB where he made just eight appearances. He’s played 16 games this season. He’s currently on a one-year, $21 million deal. The Red Sox wanted to see if he could be a long term answer to their rotation and it’s clear this will probably be his lone year in Boston.
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The Red Sox love their youth, but they went overboard with draft haul of pitchers
I’m all for the Red Sox seeking out their future pitcher on the mound via the draft. But let’s not forget, it’s going to be a while before these prospects ever step foot in Fenway Park, if they ever do. Maybe they’re stockpiling pitchers as trade pieces down the road. But either way, the Red Sox were a bit aggressive in addressing their pitching staff.
If Buehler’s not part of their long term outlook, that’s fine. But what is going to be their fall back plan in the meantime? They need to identify the pitchers they want to hold them over until their plethora of prospects develop. The good thing is they have more that enough young players to be excited about.
Maybe, finally getting to see their core three in action has motivated them to invest more in young players and hope they develop into what Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell are supposed to be. But they could very well have a bunch of swings and misses.
Diving into draft picks outside the first couple of rounds will do no good. Right now, they put all their faith in Kyson Witherspoon and Marcus Phillips to be the future of this pitching staff. Everyone else is a hope and a dream. Buehler better hope and dream they don’t take his job. Because the Red Sox made it clear he’s on thin ice after this season.