Boston Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez threw off a mound during a bullpen session for the first time since he injured his knee over the winter.
Most of the attention in camp has thus far focused on the Big Three that will lead the Boston Red Sox pitching staff this season, overshadowing a number of questions that linger over the back end of the rotation.
On Wednesday, we finally received a positive update pertaining to the three pitchers battling for the remaining spots.
It starts with Eduardo Rodriguez, who threw off the mound for the first time since tweaking his knee during winter ball in late December. The talented young lefty threw about 40 pitches during this morning’s bullpen session and walked away pain free. E-Rod felt so good in his return to the mound that he even pushed to keep going.
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That leaves Steven Wright and Drew Pomeranz as the other potential starters that will be getting a late start in spring training. Wright is still recovering from the shoulder injury that put a premature end to last year’s breakout season, while Pomeranz received an experimental stem-cell injection to alleviate elbow soreness.
There were concerns earlier this week when it was revealed that both pitchers would have their spring workouts delayed, but we’ve now learned that they shouldn’t be sidelined for long.
WEEI’s John Tomase reports that Wright and Pomeranz are both scheduled to take the mound on Monday.
"“There’s three guys in particular that this first five or six days on the field, we’ve got some specialized routines for them individually,” Farrell said. “[Rodriguez is] one of them, along with Drew and Steven Wright.”"
Barring any setbacks, there’s little reason to be concerned about the availability of any of these three pitchers for Opening Day. While the team never indicated that any of them were in serious jeopardy of missing the start of the season, the uncertain timeline raised concerns that there wouldn’t be sufficient time for the three pitchers to earn their rotation spots.
It was starting to look like the back of the rotation would be filled based on which pitchers were healthy, rather than which pitchers were performing well.
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These three pitchers are a bit behind schedule, but not by enough to hit the panic button. There’s still plenty of time to sort out who will claim the final two rotation spots, so buckle up and prepare for what is sure to be an exciting position battle this spring.