Red Sox: Drew Pomeranz should not be in the starting rotation
By Dalton Quix
The Boston Red Sox are firing on all cylinders right now, but they could be even better if Drew Pomeranz was taken out of the starting rotation.
It’s hard to nitpick where the Boston Red Sox could be better with their winning percentage above .700, but the starting pitching, Drew Pomeranz specifically, is an area that could use some fine-tuning.
In Pomeranz’s 11 starts this season, he has an ERA of a very high 6.31. He only has one win on his record for 2018, despite having the backup of this hot Red Sox offense. Also, he doesn’t give the bullpen much rest as he has only pitched 6 innings TWICE in 2018, and he has yet to go into the 7th inning.
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Pomeranz wasn’t pitching well at the beginning of the season, but when he made a trip to the disabled list, it could be assumed that his poor performance could be due to injury. However, he has picked up right where he left off, allowing 8 runs in just 14.1 innings in his three starts since returning to the rotation.
While that isn’t exactly the worst possible stretch a starting pitcher could have (just ask Luis Severino), a juggernaut of a team like the 2018 Red Sox expect better from their starting rotation, and they have better pitchers to fill his spot.
On this Red Sox team, Pomeranz could possibly be the 7th or even 8th best starting pitcher that they have. Chris Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello are undoubtedly above Pomeranz in the rotation, and with the way Nathan Eovaldi has been pitching since joining the team, zero runs in 15 innings, he deserves to be higher on the totem pole than Pomeranz, too.
Then, there’s a couple guys on the 10-day DL that could easily beat Drew out for his spot once they return from injury. Eduardo Rodriguez was on fire with a 3.44 ERA that was getting lower and lower with each start before he got injured, and the knuckleballer Steven Wright had a 1.23 ERA before a 10 run game against the Mariners. Both of these guys have been more consistant and would be better options than Pomeranz in the starting rotation.
The only person I think Pomeranz could beat out for a starting position is Brian Johnson, who has spent the season as a reliever with a few spot starts here and there. Even if Pomeranz beats him out, that still makes him just the 7th best starter on the team.
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The best move for the Red Sox right now would be to try Pomeranz in the bullpen for the rest of August and September to see if he would be valuable in that role come playoff time. If Pomeranz still struggles in that role, then I think the best bet is to keep him off the playoff roster entirely in order to give the Red Sox the best chance to win the World Series.