This has been a rough season for Brayan Bello, and while the embattled right-hander threw the ball well following an opener in Saturday’s loss, he still told reporters following his outing that he feels like he’s pitching for his job.
With a 6.43 ERA through 10 appearances Bello would appear the logical odd man out, especially with rookie lefties Connelly Early and Payton Tolle both pitching brilliantly. But whether it’s Bello, one of the rookies or someone else, the Red Sox will have to make some kind of decision once Garrett Crochet is ready to return.
Or will they?
One alternative path the Red Sox could explore is implementing a six-man rotation, which would enable the club to keep all of its starters pitching regularly in the big leagues while building in extra rest. That path could become especially appealing once some of the club’s other injured starters return, potentially creating a scenario where the Red Sox are trying to juggle roles for as many as eight or nine arms.
Would the Red Sox consider that. Interim manager Chad Tracy said that isn’t something that’s being discussed, at least not yet.
“I haven’t talked about that either. We’ll cross that bridge,” Tracy said. “I hope we get into a scenario where they all get healthy and we have a lot of options and we figure out how we’re going to do that, that’s a good problem to have, but that’s not imminent right now so we have to keep focused on what’s in front of us.”
For all of their potential benefits, six-man rotations tend not to be used often in the majors. Besides most clubs not having more than five healthy MLB-caliber arms available at any one time, the sixth starter also means one fewer bullpen arm. Many big league starters also prefer a typical five-day rhythm, though Tracy noted there are certain points in the schedule where temporarily adding a sixth starter to the mix can work to everyone’s benefit.
“I think broadly speaking a five-day works, like there’s sections of the schedule where we have off days and you automatically get a six-day. There’s other sections of the schedule where you look and go we’re about to play 18 games in a row,” Tracy said. “That’s where you can fluctuate rosters during the season and we’re going to do this for the time being.”
“When you hit spots like that those are always topics of discussion,” he continued, “but just not ones that are happening at the moment as we’re still trying to get people closer to being healthy.”
Crochet throwing Tuesday
Garrett Crochet (left shoulder inflammation) came out of his side session on Saturday feeling good and is expected to throw live batting practice on Tuesday. … Tracy had no new updates on Roman Anthony (right hand sprain), other than that the club hopes to have him try swinging again on Tuesday following Monday’s off day. … Barring any unexpected developments, the Red Sox plan to stay on their current rotation for the upcoming series against the Atlanta Braves. That would have Ranger Suarez start Tuesday, Connelly Early on Wednesday and Payton Tolle on Thursday.