Red Sox looking for a pitcher to grab No. 5 starter role
By Sean Penney
The 27-year old lefty has only made one appearance for the Red Sox since being acquired over the winter, along with Carson Smith, in the Wade Miley trade. That outing came in relief, and… it could have gone better. Elias coughed up 3 runs on four hits and a pair of walks in 1.2 innings before taking the shuttle back to Pawtucket.
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So his first stint in Boston didn’t end well, but he does have a track record of moderate success as a starter at the big league level. Elias started 49 games for the Seattle Mariners over the past two seasons, posting a 3.99 ERA. Before you jump to the argument that he benefited from calling home to a far more pitcher-friendly stadium in Seattle than the one he will contend with in Boston, note that his career numbers are actually slightly better on the road.
The results so far in Pawtucket have been disappointing, as Elias is 2-3 with a 4.60 ERA and 1.67 WHIP at the Triple-A level this year. If he’s posting those kind of numbers against minor league hitters, it doesn’t inspire much confidence that he’s ready to compete in the majors. However, he has struck out 45 batters in 45 innings and shown some improvement of late.
"“Wouldn’t rule him out,” Farrell said of Elias. “He’s coming off a couple of outings where he’s thrown the ball very well. You see the strikeouts spike at Triple-A, and for a guy that’s got the number of starts at the Major League level, you’d like to see him dominate that level, because that kind of coincides with the ability that he has. So he would certainly be a candidate for that start on the 18th and beyond.”"
Farrell won’t rule him out, so neither will we, but Elias needs to continue to show improvement in the minors before he can be trusted in the Red Sox rotation.
Chances at being No. 5: It’s possible
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