Red Sox take a solid approach to rebuilding rotation

Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: no one out of the group of Wade Miley, Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson should be expected to replace Jon Lester.

There have been countless tweets suggesting that, due to the Lester-for-Cespedes and Cespedes-for-Porcello swaps, the Red Sox essentially traded Lester for Porcello. False. If we’re going to get technical, they traded the first round pick they would have received from a Lester qualifying offer for Porcello.

I understand the fans’ concerns. When you see the Sox fail to sign Lester and then acquire three mid-rotation starters the next day, the moves may appear to be related and poor. But they’re not. Some combination of these moves likely would have been made regardless of Lester’s choice.

The Sox are actively addressing their biggest issues, with one of those issues being that their rotation at the end of last season was not at all reliable. Their young staff couldn’t be counted on to get past the fifth inning and that became taxing on the bullpen and fans.

The three newly acquired arms are all guys that could conceivably throw over 190-200 innings next season. That’s something that the Red Sox desperately need.

And again, none of them is expected to be the next Lester. They all project somewhere in the 2-4 range of a rotation. If you expect any of them to perform at ace level then you need to lower your expectations. They each fill a very specific need and were acquired for players at positions of strength, whether that be prospect depth (Miley deal) or outfield depth (Porcello deal).

It’s also important to note that there is still a long offseason ahead. In a day or a week or a month the Sox might have Cole Hamels or James Shields sitting atop the rotation. And even if they don’t, the current rotation paired with the current lineup could be enough to win.

Think about the Orioles last season. Their starters were mainly effective, middle of the rotation guys with solid arms. This formula propelled them to a first place finish and an ALCS berth.

It’s a strategy that can work. The Sox lineup is strong enough that they won’t need their pitchers to toss a shutout every outing. They just need five or six (injuries always arise) starters that they can trust to get outs, eat innings and keep things close.

Call me crazy, but I really like the direction of their rotation. With or without a true ace.