The regular season isn’t far off in the future and the Boston Red Sox are finally going to unleash their starting rotation.
Red Sox Nation has been waiting all spring for Alex Cora to call upon his Avengers-esque gang of pitchers, and they won’t need to wait much longer. Today the skipper finally gave an insight into when we would see the starting rotation get their reps in during spring training. And if you’re on the upcoming schedule or Boston, you best start sweating.
As Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com reported today, Cora has his aces ready to go starting on Sunday. Eduardo Rodriguez will be the starter in Saturday’s game but Red Sox Nation has seen E-Rod already this spring. The big tickets start with Rick Porcello taking the mound for the first time on Sunday against the Rays. Chris Sale will get the call for a minor league game or scrimmage on Monday, followed by David Price on Tuesday and Nathan Eovaldi on Wednesday.
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As I mentioned above we’ve already gotten to see Rodriguez this spring and it wasn’t the best outing from the righty. But this will be the debut of the quartet that anchored Boston’s campaign to the Commissioner’s Trophy. Having only seen glimpses into workouts and bullpen sessions, it’ll be great to see what the rotation looks like heading into 2019.
For some of these guys, this will be a career-defining year. Both Chris Sale and Rick Porcello will be free agents when the calendar closes on the 2019 season. Sale is one of the best arms in the game but injury questions have begun popping up more frequently. Porcello is one of the best in baseball when he’s on, but a rollercoaster career hasn’t made him the guarantee I’m sure he’d like to be.
David Price has always been a rock during the regular season but would crumble when the calendar made its way to October. In 2018, Price not only regained his regular season confidence but found something he has never shown before and dominated in the playoffs. Then there’s “Nasty” Nathan Eovaldi, the guy who won over Red Sox Nation in a single game. This’ll be his first full season with the Red Sox and he has a lot to follow up after his October heroics last season.
Alex Cora has played it smart and safe with his starting rotation, holding them off for as long as he could before playing them. This is a benefit to the Red Sox as it allowed them to control the workload going into the season. it also gave them a chance to tweak and work on any mechanical issues that may have popped up before seeing live action.
For much of 2018, Alex Cora received praise for often having answers to questions that hadn’t even been asked yet. On the way to a 108 win season and World Series crown, Cora often made the right move at the right time, every time. Will holding off his starters until a few short weeks before Opening Day be another masterful move? Only time will tell and in baseball, time waits for no one.
It’ll be great to see the starting rotation for the Red Sox take the mound in the upcoming week. The rotation that will surely keep the Red Sox a strong favorite as the season progresses. The rotation that was a key component in the Red Sox becoming World Champions once again in 2019. Alex Cora has his brigade ready to defend the castle, and his gameplan will live and die with his starting rotation.