Five Red Sox question marks for the 2018 season
By Rick McNair
The next on the knee agenda is the surprise surgery to Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez will be just 25-years-old at the beginning of the 2018 season, but it seems like the lefty has been around considerably longer. Through his first ten games in 2017, E-Rod had a 2.77 ERA and could have been considered the second best in the rotation.
Can Rodriguez recovery to his form the first two months of 2017? There is that question mark and the full story will not be known until next May rolls around. The recovery is slated for six months followed by an extended spring training.
If Wright and Rodriguez are back in the form of their best days, the Red Sox pitching staff could have a serious injection of quality that may be desperately needed. The Red Sox offseason approach to 2018 may be predicated on just how baseball operations view Wright and Rodriguez. I would certainly expect the question mark to cause a more than a serious look at resigning Doug Fister.
PREDICTION: Rodriguez has notoriously slow recoveries from injuries. The spring training incident in 2016 turned into months after being considered just weeks. I do not expect any change for that and the May return being mentioned is just too optimistic for me. Expect mid-July and a nice eight wins.