Four pitchers the Red Sox could acquire to fill in for Chris Sale
The Red Sox need starting pitching. That much was true before the lockout when they tried to patch an Eduardo Rodriguez-sized hole in their rotation with an unappealing combination of Rich Hill, James Paxton, and Michael Wacha, but it became even more true with the news on Wednesday. Ace Chris Sale, who hasn’t had a full season since 2017, will now miss at least the first month of the 2021 season with a stress fracture in his ribs.
Even though Sale will likely not be out for a significant portion of the season, it’s a reminder of how injury-ridden he has been in recent years and should serve as a wake-up call for Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom to add to the rotation.
Unfortunately for him, many of the top pitching free agents are off the market, with All-Stars Kevin Gausman, Robbie Ray, Yusei Kikuchi, and Carlos Rodon all finding new homes. The trade market has also thinned, with All-Stars Sonny Gray and Chris Bassitt getting traded to the Twins and Athletics respectively.
Just because the options are limited, however, doesn’t mean that there still aren’t impact arms out there. Let’s take a look at four starting pitchers that can fill in for Sale during his absence.