Red Sox made necessary decision to release Steven Wright

The Boston Red Sox have released knuckleball pitcher Steven Wright in order to spend his projected salary on a more reliable option.

The Boston Red Sox announced on Friday that they have released knuckleball pitcher Steven Wright, ending his seven-year tenure with the team.

The 35-year old made his major league debut in 2013 and appeared sporadically as a spot starter and reliever over the first few seasons of his career. His breakout season came in 2016 when he went 13-6 with a 3.33 ERA and was a surprise selection to the All-Star team.

It’s been downhill ever since for the right-hander. Wright injured his shoulder late in the 2016 season when former Red Sox manager John Farrell made the baffling decision to use his pitcher as a pinch-runner. This was the beginning of a series of unfortunate events that derailed Wright’s career.

Wright struggled when he returned to the mound the following season, posting a brutal 8.25 ERA in five starts. He lasted more than six innings in only one of those starts and gave up 4+ runs in four of the five. It was later revealed that a sprained knee had been bothering him since spring training. He was placed on the injured list in May of that season and underwent season-ending knee surgery shortly after.

He was still recovering from surgery when the 2018 season opened and had to serve a 15-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy, delaying his season debut until mid-May. Wright showed signs of a bounce-back season, posting a 2.68 ERA in 20 appearances, including four starts. Just as it seemed as though he was back on track, a knee injury suffered before Game 1 of the ALDS forced the Red Sox to remove Wright from their postseason roster.

After all the setbacks Wright had suffered, this year may have been the worst. It began with an 80-game suspension for performance enhancing drugs, further tarnishing his reputation and alienating himself from teammates who have spoken out against PED offenders.

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Wright would make only six appearances out of the bullpen this year, posting a career-worst 8.53 ERA in  6/1 innings. A toe injury sent him back to the injured list in July and he sat on the shelf for the remainder of the season.

That makes two of the last three seasons where Wright has failed to make more than six appearances due to injuries and suspensions while posting an ERA north of 8.00.

On top of all that, the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato reports that Wright had a PRP injection in his elbow last August and concerns about his health were a factor in his release.

Wright was projected to earn $1.5 million in his final year of arbitration before hitting free agency after next season. That may seem to be a reasonable amount for a Red Sox team in need of a cheap fifth starter but Wright simply isn’t worth the investment. It would be more costly in the long run if they kept him to compete for that final rotation spot, only to later spend more to find a replacement if he struggled or suffered another injury.

Releasing their expendable arbitration-eligible players is one of the necessary steps toward the goal of getting under the luxury tax threshold this season. Wright was the first to get cut and perhaps the most obvious choice.

Wright has shown flashes of brilliance and has the versatility to help many teams. He’s not the same pitcher he was a few years ago though and his age and injury history make him too unreliable for a Red Sox team working on a tight budget to invest in.