OPINION: Boston Red Sox Game on Thursday Shows The Impact that Injuries Are Having

Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Ryan Brasier was forced to pitch the eighth inning on Thursday afternoon against the Detroit Tigers, highlighting the effects that injuries are having in the early going on the Red Sox pitching staff. If the Red Sox had James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock, Joely Rodriguez and Brayan Bello healthy, Brasier wouldn't have been needed to be in that spot.

Boston Red Sox reliever Ryan Brasier had an ERA of 5.78 ERA in 2022, after barely seeing a major league mound in 2021.

He's a guy that most Red Sox fans want to see cut. He's not a guy that Sox fans want to see pitching in high-leverage situations.

The fact that Brasier was pitching in the eighth inning on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers with a 6-3 lead underscores just how discouraging the health of the Red Sox pitching staff has been in the early going.

Lets recap what happened on Thursday really quick....

Chris Sale went the first five innings. John Schreiber threw the sixth, Chris Martin the seventh and Brasier the eighth. Kenley Jansen threw the ninth and got the save.

The game was set up almost perfectly for Boston -- with Brasier being the outlier. He simply doesn't belong in those situations, but given what the Sox are dealing with, that's what the Sox had to use on Thursday.

For instance, if Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello were in the rotation as expected, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck could be in the bullpen, and the plan could have been different. If James Paxton was in the rotation, someone could have gone to the bullpen, or maybe Paxton could be there himself.

If Rodriguez was healthy, he could have thrown the eighth inning.

If everyone was healthy, I don't know who Alex Cora would have turned to in the eighth inning on Thursday, but I know this: when Chaim Bloom and company planned out their bullpen for 2023, they had a plan that didn't involve Brasier throwing the eighth inning of a game you were trying to win.

I hope we can see the bullpen as it was meant to be constructed soon.