Red Sox reveal significant change to starting rotation, bullpen for 2023
The 2023 Boston Red Sox starting rotation isn’t as empty as it seems.
After Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, and Rich Hill all became free agents at the end of the season, the Sox seemed faced with a tall order of overhauling most of their rotation this winter.
Or not.
For the first time in years, the Sox finally have some legitimate in-house pitching options. During the GM Meetings in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sox GM Brian O’Halloran revealed that the Sox plan to use Garrett Whitlock as a starting pitcher in 2023. They’ve also reportedly instructed Tanner Houck to build back up as a starter in his offseason workouts, as he, too, could be in the rotation.
“With Whit, we told him to plan to be a starter and we expect him to be a starter,” O’Halloran said at the general managers meetings in Las Vegas. “With Tanner, we said something similar. We talked through that he will go through the offseason planning to be a starter and we’ll build him up as such. But there’s a little bit definition around his role and he knows it could go in either direction.”via MassLive
Red Sox plan to use Garrett Whitlock as a starting pitcher in 2023
Whitlock originally projected as a starter when he was a prospect in the New York Yankees system, but the Sox solely used him as a reliever/closer during his rookie season in 2021. He was utterly brilliant that first year, posting a 1.96 ERA over 46 appearances, finishing 11 games, and earning two saves. His starting pitching debut in 2022 was decidedly less smooth sailing; over nine starts, he posted a 4.15 ERA, allowing 18 earned runs across 39 innings. He was decidedly stronger in relief, with a 2.75 ERA and only 12 earned runs in 39 1/3 bullpen innings last season before requiring hip surgery.
Houck, meanwhile, debuted as a starter in 2020, and only allowed one earned run over his first three career starts. Over 92 1/3 career innings in the rotation (20 starts), he has a 3.22 ERA with 33 earned runs and 107 strikeouts. Across 53 2/3 innings in relief, he’s posted a 2.68 ERA with 16 earned runs and 57 strikeouts. Before his back injury and subsequent surgery this season, he’d been a dominant out of the bullpen.
Hypothetically, this gives the Sox a starting rotation of Brayan Bello, James Paxton, Nick Pivetta, Chris Sale, Whitlock, and possibly Houck. Of course, Paxton hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since April 2021, and Sale missed nearly the entire year, so they aren’t exactly sure things.
If the Sox plan to use Whitlock (and possibly Houck) as a starter, they’re taking a very affordable route where rotation construction is concerned. The Sox signed Whitlock to a four-year extension for $18.75M with a team option last year (likely in part because they planned to try use him as a starter again), and Houck won’t reach arbitration eligibility until 2025. Bello isn’t arbitration-eligible until 2026, Pivetta is only in his second year of arbitration, and Paxton opted into a $4.2M player option after the Sox declined their option on him. The only financial albatross is Sale, who opted into the remainder of his contract earlier this month.
In other words, more financial flexibility to pay Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers.
However, moving Whitlock and potentially Houck to the rotation creates a whole new list of action items and questions. This change empties the relief ranks even more; last season, they were two of the only saving graces in a disastrous Sox bullpen. If they leave the pen, who is the closer, Matt Barnes? Can he be trusted?
Whitlock and Houck both had season-ending surgeries (hip, back), and Sale and Paxton have both been sidelined with injuries. Are the Sox setting themselves up for another injury-ruined season?
What does this mean for Qualifying Offers? The Sox reportedly plan to extend one to Xander Bogaerts, merely a formality. Does moving Whitlock to the rotation signal that neither Michael Wacha nor Nathan Eovaldi will receive a QO?
This Sox offseason is like a 500-piece puzzle of a cloudless blue sky. Trying to figure out where each piece fits feels like an impossible task.
