Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell revealed that right-handed pitcher Rick Porcello will get the nod to start on Opening Day.
When you have a trio of aces leading your rotation, you really can’t go wrong in deciding which one of them will start on Opening Day. The Boston Red Sox would feel comfortable getting their season rolling with any of their star pitchers on the mound, but they’ve finally decided which of them gets the honor of taking the mound first.
Manager John Farrell revealed on Wednesday that reigning Cy Young winner Rick Porcello would start the first game of the season on April 3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Porcello is coming off of a career year, leading the majors with 22 wins and a 5.91 K/BB ratio, while posting the lowest ERA (3.15) and WHIP (1.00) of his career.
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Farrell claims he informed Porcello of the decision at the beginning of spring training. If that’s the case, why wait weeks before telling the rest of us? Deciding which ace gets to go first in the rotation was one of the most debated topics entering camp, so it makes little sense why Farrell would let those questions linger if he’d already made up his mind.
If Farrell was toying with other options, his decision was made easier with David Price‘s elbow scare. The lefty earned his first win in a Red Sox uniform on Opening Day last year, but is likely to begin this season on the disabled list.
That left Farrell with two reasonable options – Porcello or newcomer Chris Sale.
Fans are eagerly anticipating Sale’s Red Sox debut, so it would be tempting to choose him to lead the rotation. He has a much longer track record of dominance, making five straight All-Star appearances and finishing among the top six on the Cy Young ballot in each of those seasons.
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As outstanding as Sale has been over the last handful of years, he’s never taken home the hardware awarded to the league’s best pitcher. Porcello won it last year. While his breakout season may be the only sample we have of the right-hander being worthy of the ace mantle, he’s earned the honor of starting Opening Day.
With Clay Buchholz having been shipped out of town, Porcello is now the longest tenured pitcher in Boston’s rotation. Granted, he’s only been here for two years, but his tenure with the franchise gives him another edge over Sale.
We’ll have to wait until the second game of the season on April 5 to see Sale’s first start with the Red Sox.
Chris Sale will start season's second game April 5 vs. Pirates at Fenway. Beyond that, #RedSox haven't set order of E-Rod, Pomeranz, Wright.
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) March 15, 2017
With Price sidelined indefinitely, the rest of the rotation should include Steven Wright, Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez. It has yet to be determined which order those three will appear in (unless Farrell knows but wants to hide his decision for a few more weeks – classic Farrell).
When we eventually find out how the rest of the rotation lines up it will give us some insight into how the team views each of them entering the season. This could be a factor in determining who gets bumped when Price is ready to return, although a strong April performance will carry more weight than anything we see in camp.
Sale might be the most talented pitcher on the staff, while a healthy Price would be in the conversation as well. Porcello still needs to prove he’s more than just a one-year wonder, but after the season he had in 2016 he deserves to start Opening Day.