The Red Sox need to identify a fourth and fifth starter with David Price gone and Chris Sale set to begin the 2020 regular season on the injured list.
Sale will start the season on the IL because of his delayed start to spring training (pneumonia). He will be eligible to return April 7, but he likely won’t make his 2020 debut until mid-April.
The Red Sox haven’t ruled out using an opener in one or both of the rotation spots.
Does Sale’s IL stint increase the Red Sox’s level of interest in acquiring another starter?
“I don’t think so only in that we would always want to accumulate as much depth as we can,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Thursday at JetBlue Park. “So I don’t think that changes, obviously. Things like this are why you do that. So I don’t think it changes given it was already an objective.”
If you haven’t noticed, Bloom is constantly looking outside the organization to upgrade his roster. Since joining the Red Sox in October, he has acquired and signed 12 players from outside the organization to his 40-man roster.
It certainly shouldn’t surprise anyone if Bloom added a fifth starter via trade or free agency before Opening Day. His roster is constantly a fluid situation.
“At the same time, again we have a lot of guys here that we’re interesting in learning more about; that we’re excited about,” Bloom said. “We brought them all in for a reason. We’ve got some guys within the organization that we’re working with them to help them get better. So this is a good time to see them put those adjustments into play and learn more about them.”
Boston also added five of their own Rule 5 eligible players — including Kyle Hart who started vs. the Twins on Friday — to the 40-man roster in November.
Hart joins Chris Mazza, Ryan Weber, Mike Shawaryn and Brian Johnson (not on 40-man) among the several internal options.
“We’re looking at a number of different options for that fifth spot,” Bloom said without specifically naming anyone.
Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke identified Hart as a candidate Friday. The lefty pitched 2 scoreless and hitless innings, allowing one walk and one hit vs. the Twins.
“We’ve got two spots,” Roenicke said before Hart’s start. “I know he … has not as much experience as some of the other starters that we’ve brought in from other organizations. But he should be out there and just trying to make a team. Trying to show us enough that he can make a team. His command has gotten better over the years. … And he’s figuring out how to pitch. How to mix up pitches. How to hit spots. And when he does this, who knows where he’ll end up.”
Hart already is 27 (he had a birthday in November) and he doesn’t throw hard. His fastball sits in the upper-80s and low 90s. But the 6-foot-5 lefty consistently has been one of the most effective starters in Boston’s minor league system the past three years thanks to his array of secondary pitches. The shape to his slider and pitch mix is similar to Patrick Corbin’s.
“He’s going to have to be a command guy. He’s not going to throw 95 and throw by people,” Roenicke said. “So just hit spots. Corner to corner at 90 mph is very hard to hit. Over the middle? OK, now these hitters are really good at this pitch. So he has just has to be better with his command than the guy who throws 95 and above.”
The original article written by Christopher Smith can be found here:
https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2020/02/kyle-hart-is-boston-red-sox-starting-rotation-candidate-dont-be-surprised-either-if-chaim-bloom-adds-starter-via-trade-free-agency.html