Red Sox to open season with multiple starters out injured

The Red Sox rotation will likely be down several starters to begin the season, as MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo writes that each of Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello and James Paxton is expected to begin the season on the injured list.

Paxton had already been trending in this direction and is not expected to be ready to take the Fenway mound until May at the eraliest. Cotillo notes that Whitlock -- who got a late start to the spring due to hip surgery rehab -- should be ready for season-action sometime in mid-April. Bello, who battled forearm tightness early in camp, should follow shortly thereafter, assuming no setbacks in his recovery.

The Red Sox announced this week that offseason signee Corey Kluber will serve as Opening Day starter, with southpaw Chris Sale -- eyeing a rebound campaign after a dreadful run of injuries in recent seasons -- slated to start the second game of the season. Righties Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck and likely Kutter Crawford should round out the quintet to begin the year.

With Whitlock and Bello both expected to return by the end of the season’s first month, though, the rotation will likely be reconfigured relatively soon after Opening Day. Crawford, who struggled to a 5.47 ERA in 77 2/3 frames last season, figures to be the odd man out once either Whitlock or Bello is able to reclaim a spot in the starting rotation. In such a case, Crawford would figure to serve as optionable rotation depth alongside Josh Winckowski.

Assuming everyone remains healthy by the time both Whitlock and Bello are ready to return, the Sox will be faced with a decision between Houck and Pivetta for the final rotation spot. Pivetta made a league-leading 33 starts last season and paced the team with 179 2/3 innings pitched. That impressive volume came with mediocre results, however, as the right-hander posted a slightly below-average 4.56 ERA during the 2022 campaign.

Houck, meanwhile, has been a successful pitcher both as a starter (3.22 ERA in 92 1/3 innings) and a reliever (2.68 ERA in 53 2/3 innings) to this point in his career. The former first-rounder has long been seen as a potential rotation piece at Fenway, but the Red Sox were noncommittal early in the offseason when asked about his role. 

Houck also underwent back surgery late last season and ended the year on the injured list after making 28 of his 32 appearances as a reliever. It’s easy to see why the Sox would be intrigued by the idea of Houck upping his workload this year and even getting some more run in the starting staff, but he’s coming off a 60-inning season that ended in back surgery; a jump to a full starter’s workload would be something of a surprise.

Of course, this needn’t be a strict either-or proposition. Situations like this tend to work themselves out, often as injuries crop up elsewhere on a pitching staff. Getting Houck early rotationional work and perhaps moving him to a multi-inning relief/sixth starter role once everyone is healthy would be a logical means of managing his workload as he ramps up from last year’s relatively limited load.

Even if Boston stretches Houck out as a starter for as long as possible, that doesn’t mean Pivetta will be decidedly forced out of the rotation. Given that each of Sale, Whitlock, Bello, Houck, Kluber and especially Paxton have some notable injuries within the past few seasons, it’s likely the Sox will need to shuffle through quite a few starters as the season rolls along. All six of their top options figure to spend ample time in the rotation this summer as need dictates.

The Red Sox also have depth options like Crawford, Winckowski, Brandon Walter, Chris Murphy and Bryan Mata as candidates for rotation work down in the minors.