Red Sox Predictions: Boston’s starting rotation for the 2020 season
Red Sox No. 5: The Mystery Man
I toyed around with this one quite a bit over the last few days. The Red Sox have a ton of guys who can slot into the fifth man role and finish off the rotation, but none have separated themselves from the pack. Currently, Boston has guys like Brian Johnson and Marcus Walden who have started but are mostly relegated to bullpen duty. Both are known to be fire when they’re on and ice when they’re not, but can go out and eat innings when called upon.
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There are also a few super cheap free agents still on the board that can come in and be the final man in the order as well. I recently wrote about a pair of such arms in Clay Buchholz and Aaron Sanchez. One is a former Red Sox hero that could have a chance to end his career where it began, and the other is a youngster that could find a serious home in Boston.
It feels like the team is going to go with the opener route as that was non-stop talked about once Bloom was hired. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that happen because as I said, there isn’t really anyone that has stepped up. There are plenty of guys that I’m positive would love the opportunity and would try to make the best of it, but nothing as of yet.
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For the Red Sox, this spot could be a throwaway and nothing of concern. But with how their bullpen was so heavily beaten down in 2019, I can’t imagine they’d want to dedicate an entire day to burning through their relievers. I’d like to see Johnson get the call personally, I think he has the potential and can be reliable, but I don’t get paid to make those calls. Hopefully, Ron Roenicke has been stewing over this for the last few months, because he’s going to need a serious plan.