Reunion With Premier Pitcher Makes Perfect Sense To Bolster Starting Rotation

Boston could use a frontline starter

Scott Neville | Jan 23, 2023

Reunion With Premier Pitcher Makes Perfect Sense To Bolster Starting Rotation /

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Boston Red Sox

It's time for the Boston Red Sox to reunite with their best pitcher from the 2022 season.

Boston has endured some tough breaks this offseason, including the San Diego Padres unexpectedly breaking the bank for shortstop Xander Bogaerts, and Trevor Story re-injuring his throwing arm late in the offseason.

One thing that has broken in the Red Sox's favor is the lack of interest from opposing clubs in right-hander Michael Wacha -- the most productive pitcher in Boston's rotation a year ago.

The 31-year-old hurler posted an 11-2 record with a 3.32 ERA, 104-to-31 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .233 batting average against in 127 1/3 innings across 23 starts.

Wacha was one of the most effective pitchers in baseball last season, and he can be acquired for a discount with spring training on the horizon.

It is fair for clubs to be concerned about his lackluster underlying metrics -- all of which point to last season as a fluke -- but the Red Sox are not in a position to be picky after passing on all marquee starters in the free-agent class.

A rotation of Wacha, a rebounding Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta and Garrett Whitlock with depth options including James Paxton, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski would be a formidable group.

Due to the Red Sox's rotation featuring almost exclusively oft-injured veterans and inexperienced young arms, it's important for the club to have deep depth. Wacha would lengthen the list of quality Major-League caliber arms on the 40-man roster.

The Red Sox have a rare opportunity to add a pitcher who dominated for them last season -- to the tune of a 3.32 ERA -- late in the offseason, and should not squander it.

More MLB: Chaim Bloom, Alex Cora Reveal Red Sox's Plans At Shortstop, Second Base

Published Jan 23, 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