Red Sox moving Walker Buehler to IL begs questions about another starting pitcher

The hits keep comin' for the Boston Red Sox rotation.

Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford all began the regular season on the IL. Bello and Giolito finally made their returns over the last couple weeks, but now Boston is down another key arm: Walker Buehler is slated to miss at least 15 days with "right shoulder inflammation."

This comes after Buehler was unable to bounce back well from his most recent start. The 30-year-old, who missed the entire 2023 campaign after Tommy John surgery, has a lot of arm injuries on his ledger. He has made six starts for Boston this season, logging a 4.28 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. He has 29 strikeouts through 33.2 innings pitched.

Buehler was integral to the Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series run last autumn. He even picked up the series-clinching save in Game 5. When healthy and in a rhythm, Buehler can tango with the very best pitchers in baseball. He inked a one-year, $21 million contract with the Red Sox, his first-ever MLB stint away from L.A. Without him, Boston is missing an essential member of the rotation.

That begs another question: Where on God's green earth is Richard Fitts? The 25-year-old hurler has not been on the bump for Boston since April 12, when he left the game early due to a right pectoral strain.

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With Walker Buehler on IL, Red Sox fans wonder when Richard Fitts might return

As of May 1, Richard Fitts was still playing catch, without a single rehab start under his belt. That means he is probably a few weeks away from starting for the big-league club, if we want to do the math.

That opens up an opportunity for 25-year-old righty Hunter Dobbins, who has been lights-out in two pinch starts this season. He carries a 2.45 ERA and 1.18 WHIP through 11.0 innings, logging 11 strikeouts. He's in the 98th percentile for chase rate and the 91st percentile for barrel rate. All very encouraging.

The Red Sox are in a pickle, but the bullpen is (mostly) solid and there are young options coming through the pipeline. Both Fitts and Dobbins look the part of everyday starters when they take the mound. We should be wary of small sample sizes — see: Phillips, Tyler, of the 2024 Philadelphia Phillies — but Boston has more depth than one might expect at first glance.

Now, how does the rest of the pitching staff hold up? Buehler was not pitching up to his usual standard before the injury. Tanner Houck has struggled immensely out of the gate. The Red Sox have a true-blue ace in Garrett Crochet, but there is still much left to be proven between the 2-to-5 slots in this Boston rotation. We shall see if Dobbins can earn a sustained workload, or if his impact metrics wane as MLB hitters get more experience against him.

One of these days, Boston can hopefully welcome back Buehler, Crawford and Fitts to give Alex Cora a full arsenal to work with. Until then, we shall see if Dobbins can elevate his status in the organization.