Red Sox Could Call Up Intriguing Young Hurler Amid Desperate Playoff Chase

It might be time to dip into the minors to help the rotation survive...

Jun 5, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of ball bags on the field during warm ups before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox are in full-on desperation mode. And unfortunately, they're also running dangerously low on pitching.

After Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Tanner Houck all picked up disappointing losses in the excruciating sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, the Red Sox are left having to cover five games in the next four days against the Toronto Blue Jays.

With Houck unable to come back on short rest, one of the five games will have to be started by someone not currently in Boston's scheduled rotation. Though a bullpen game is an option, one Red Sox insider also points out that this series is an opportunity to call up an intriguing trade acquisition.

Chris Cotillo of MassLive wrote after the Arizona series that depending on whether Cooper Criswell starts on Monday or Tuesday, the Red Sox could call up Quinn Priester to start one of the games in the Toronto series.

"Quinn Priester, who is in Worcester and on the 40-man roster, would be in line to pitch if the Red Sox need a starter from Triple-A," Cotillo said. "According to a major league source, it’s not likely that a top Triple-A prospect like Richard Fitts comes up to start the second game Monday."

Priester, 23, has a 7.88 ERA in four starts with Triple-A Worcester since coming over in the deadline deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Those numbers are skewed by a rough first outing in which Priester gave up eight earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings; the righty has fared significantly better since.

In 20 career games at the big-league level, including 14 starts, Priester is 5-9 with a 6.46 ERA. He has struggled to strike batters out, fanning just 67 in 94 2/3 innings of work.

Formerly a consensus Top-100 prospect in the Pirates organization, Priester is clearly a part of the Red Sox's plans for their future rotation. Accordingly, there's an impulse to prioritize his development over helping the big-league club make a last-ditch playoff push.

However, there can also be merit to throwing a young pitcher into the fire when there aren't many other options. If Priester makes his Red Sox debut on Tuesday, they could be closer to finding out what to expect from him in 2025 and beyond.

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