Throughout the offseason, the Red Sox had been heavily rumored to be involved with free agents Jon Lester and James Shields in addition to Phillies’ starter Cole Hamels. Once Lester signed, however, the Red Sox turned to a series of marginal upgrades to their rotation rather than one huge ace, adding Rick Porcello, Wade Miley, and Justin Masterson to their starting five. Thus, with the Red Sox having already committed a huge amount of money this offseason as well as the lack of rumors surrounding the team, it appears likely that the Red Sox will go into the 2015 season with their current rotation rather than adding one more piece.
And while Boston certainly doesn’t have the most talented rotation in baseball by any means, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In a best case scenario, the Red Sox could have three #2 starters between Porcello, Masterson, and Clay Buchholz with Joe Kelly and Miley not too far behind. Despite its lack of an ace, that would be a very strong rotation and would certainly put the Red Sox in contention.
Of course, the best case scenario won’t happen, but even if Masterson and Buchholz are unable to bounce back with strong 2015 seasons, the Red Sox aren’t in terrible shape.
By opting against signing a big-name pitcher to a huge contract, the Red Sox have the payroll space and prospect depth to acquire a pitcher at the trade deadline if necessary. Plus, with the 2015-16 free agent class looking very deep in terms of pitching depth, there could be a number of high-quality pitchers available at the deadline.
While it certainly isn’t sexy to have Rick Porcello as the ace of the Boston Red Sox, the Red Sox aren’t in a terrible position with their rotation. Even though it lacks an ace, their rotation has solid upside, with the potential to house three #2 starters and two #3 starters and, even though the best-case scenario won’t actually happen, the Red Sox offense is strong enough to overcome a mediocre rotation. So, with that being said, it appears likely that we’ll wait until July for any major rotation upgrades.