Red Sox: Five biggest offseason questions heading into December
By Tim Starr
What pitching upgrades will be brought it?
The 2019 Red Sox bullpen was shaky. Somehow the rotation was even worse. The Red Sox big four starters averaged less than 132 innings and now they are losing Rick Porcello who averaged just under 32 starts a year in his time with Boston.
Let’s start off with the hole in the bullpen. The Red Sox have a much better talent than they get credit for as Brandon Workman, Matt Barnes, and Darwinzon Hernandez could make a dominant trio. With a supporting cast consisting of Ryan Brasier, Josh Taylor among others, the Red Sox could use one top arm to stabilize the top of the bullpen.
If a pitcher like Dellin Betances or Will Harris is brought in, they could close for the Red Sox in 2020. This takes away stressful innings from the rest of the bullpen and allows them to be put in high-leverage situations. With Red Sox owners already confirming they hope to upgrade the bullpen this winter, let’s hope they acquire a top-end reliever as opposed to a depth piece that ends up collapsing in 2020. A Tyler Thornburg or Carson Smith repeat is the last thing that the club needs, especially after the 2019 drag.
In the rotation, unlike the bullpen, the Red Sox don’t need a top-end starter, rather just an innings-eater. A pitcher like Porcello perfectly fits Boston’s needs. He has shown he won’t completely collapse when pitching in Boston, but was always reliable, accountable, and took the ball every fifth day. Other starters on the market include Tanner Roark or Gio Gonzalez.
If the Red Sox wanted to use internal options (which is a terrible idea) they could use pitchers like Hector Velazquez or Brian Johnson. Both have been spot starters and reliable depth pieces for the club, but both had ERA’s above 5.40 last season. They are nice depth pieces, but not fifth starters for a team with postseason aspirations.
Overall, I have always been a Porcello defender and I think he could return on a cheap 1-year deal. He will eat innings and was sharp in the 2018 postseason which shows that he won’t succumb to pressure.