Now that
Clay Buchholz will be toiling in the
City Of Brotherly Love, the make-up of the 2017 Red Sox rotation is
much clearer.
Chris Sale,
David Price,
Rick Porcello and
Eduardo Rodriguez should be the four locked-in starters. E-Rod has no real experience in a relief role—while both
Drew Pomeranz and
Steven Wright do. As
Paul Swydan of
FanGraphs.com points out, the latter two
have performed either better in the 'pen (Pomeranz) or about the same as in their starting roles (Wright). While the career sample sizes are relatively small for both, the fact remains that they at least have
been relievers before. Of course, this is an extremely positive situation for manager
John Farrell—he can 'mix and match' Pomeranz and Wright as fifth starters whenever the circumstances dictate. And, if Boston
does make it to the post-season, they will have three formidable starters to go into a short series in Sale, Price and Porcello.
