On the list of things the Boston Red Sox seemed to need when the 2025 season opened, pitching depth wasn't exactly near the top.
Boston boasted an Opening Day rotation comprising Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Richard Fitts, Tanner Houck, and Sean Newcomb — one superstar, two established big-leaguers, a highly-regarded prospect, and a veteran stopgap. Both in rehab and in the minor leagues, the organization also had Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Quinn Priester, and Michael Fulmer waiting in the wings, with Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval both targeting mid-season return dates from their respective injuries.
That might not be an All-Star roster, but it seemed like Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow had taken several steps towards atoning for last season by stocking the shelves with quality, reliable major-league level depth. At the very least, Boston felt ready in case disaster struck.
As we all know, though, that's not how the cookie crumbles. Buehler, Fitts, Bello, and Giolito have all dealt with varying injury issues, Houck has struggled mightily, Newcomb was relegated to the bullpen, and Priester was traded to Milwaukee. In a flash, the Sox' pitching depth collapsed.
Hunter Dobbins' emergence has saved the Red Sox through injuries and inconsistency
Enter Hunter Dobbins, whom the Red Sox summoned to make his MLB debut as the 27th man for an April 6 doubleheader. The 25-year-old right-hander didn't have much in the way of expectations — Dobbins entered as a relative unknown and the 11th-ranked prospect in Boston's system, per SoxProspects. But his five-strikeout, two-run performance across five innings in his debut sparked some intrigue in both Red Sox fans and the front office.
Since then, Dobbins has been Boston's go-to guy for spot starts. On April 18, he hurled six excellent innings against the White Sox before making three consecutive starts for the injured Buehler across the first three weeks of May. While Dobbins's stats don't jump off the page — 3.90 ERA across 27.2 innings — he's been good enough in virtually every start to keep the Red Sox in the game.
And, in a world where Houck's been the worst qualified pitcher in baseball, Bello and Giolito have dealt with inconsistency since their return, and Fitts and Buehler continue fighting the injury bug, Dobbins's reliability, even if it isn't dominance, is worth something. If he continues to pitch well, he'll give Breslow a headache once guys begin to round into form.
By no means is he guaranteed a place in the rotation; after all, 27.2 innings isn't a large enough sample size to affirmatively say what he is one way or the other. He has established himself, however, as a guy the Red Sox can look to when they need to, and if he keeps improving, Dobbins could find himself toeing the Fenway rubber every five days for the foreseeable future.