Here's Red Sox's Updated Starting Rotation After James Paxton's Injury

Boston will rely on pitching depth early-on

Scott Neville | Mar 5, 2023

Here's Red Sox's Updated Starting Rotation After James Paxton's Injury /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox entered spring training with a slew of oft-injured veterans and inexperienced young guns to restock a starting rotation that needed to be revamped.

Many expected the depth of the starting rotation to be tested due to the lengthy injury history of many of the starting pitchers on the roster. Those fans/analysts would be correct, as three players already are trending toward stints on the injured list to open the season.

Garrett Whitlock still is recovering from an offseason hip surgery that is expected to delay his season debut until after Opening Day. Brayan Bello had a forearm strain early in camp and the Red Sox are committed to bringing him along slowly. James Paxton has a Grade 1 hamstring injury he sustained in his first spring training outing on Friday.

All three pitchers are expected to return in April -- barring any setbacks -- but could miss Opening Day.

Assuming they all miss a turn or two, Boston would be left with Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck and either Kutter Crawford or Josh Winckowski. Crawford appears to have the leg up in the battle for the final spot in the rotation.

If the aforementioned group can stay healthy -- and that is a big "if" -- the Red Sox will be in a solid position. That rotation is formidable, and all three pitchers on the mend provide serious upside.

It's not the start fans wanted but the concern level should be at a minimum as it stands now.

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Published Mar 5, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu