BOSTON — Richard Fitts is expected to take injured starter Hunter Dobbins’ spot in the Red Sox rotation after the All-Star break.
Dobbins, who has made the fifth most starts for Boston this season, suffered a season-ending ACL tear Friday.
“Nobody has to step up. Somebody has to just jump in,” manager Alex Cora said Saturday. “And we’ve got capable guys. Fitts is here now. We’ll set up the rotation after the break probably with him in mind. And we’ll go from there.”
How about Tanner Houck returning to the starting rotation?
“He’s in the equation but like I said, I think Fitts is the one that will jump into the rotation,” Cora said.
Houck has been on the IL since May 15 (retroactive to May 14) with a right flexor pronator strain. He has pitched well in his past two rehab starts. His 30-day rehab clock is set to expire Thursday, the final day of the All-Star break.
The Red Sox will need to make a decision. Houck, an All-Star last year, posted an 8.04 ERA (43 ⅔ innings, 39 earned runs) in nine starts for Boston before landing on the IL.
He has minor league options remaining and so the Red Sox could option him to Triple-A Worcester. They also haven’t ruled out bringing him back as a reliever.
Cora confirmed the Red Sox and Houck have not had discussions about his role (starter or reliever) when he returns.
“I think we’re still talking through what the situation looks like,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said in regard to Houck. “Obviously, he’s been a really good starter in the big leagues for some time. We’ll have to figure out what’s right for Tanner and what’s right for the team.”
Breslow said before Friday’s game (and before Dobbins’ injury) that the Red Sox are looking to add an impact starter before the trade deadline.
“You never have too much pitching,” Breslow said. “Some of this is, as guys get healthy … how do we figure out who do we want to keep built out as starting pitching depth and who do we think might be a weapon in a multi-inning role out of the ‘pen. And does that ease some of the workload on some of the guys who have been workhorses for us in the first half?”
Cora said he feels good about the rotation depth and mentioned Kyle Harrison (from the Rafael Devers trade) as an option, too. Harrison has been working on his pitch mix in Worcester.
“Harrison, Tanner, Fitts. We’ve got guys,” Cora said. “So we’ll be OK.”
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