Who Will Replace Ranger Suarez in Boston Red Sox Rotation?
The 30-year-old All-Star starter was placed on the injured list on Thursday afternoon, leaving an already depleted Red Sox rotation with an open spot to fill.
Video Transcript
What's up, everyone?
Zach Coe here for Roundtable.
Ahead of Thursday afternoon's series finale in Chicago, the Red Sox rotation took yet another hit as the team announced that left-handed starter Ranger Surez was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left groin strain.
Like I said, the injury to Surez further depletes an injury-riddled Red Sox rotation, which leaves them with only a few options to make Surez's next start, which is slated for Saturday when the Red Sox take on the Mets in Citi Field.
Of course, the Red Sox have starter Bryan Bello in Triple-A Worcester.
He was optioned after a really dreadful first couple months at the Major League level, and he hasn't exactly lit the world on fire in four starts with Triple-A, Worcester posting a 4.34 ERA over 18 and two-thirds innings.
Of course, he struggled mightily during his time with the Red Sox when, especially when being used as a traditional starter, posting a 10.35 ERA in eight starts, including a first-inning ERA of a truly dreadful 16.88.
He was, however, incredibly efficient when being used as a bulk reliever, posting a 0.71 ERA, which is the second lowest mark among all relievers with at least 20 innings pitched.
After being left off Worcester's probable starters for the week, Bello seems like the most likely option to handle the bulk of the work in Surez's absence, whether that be as a bulk reliever or a traditional starter.
The Red Sox also do have two additional options on their 40-man roster in Tyler Oberstein and Eduardo Rivera.
The 27-year-old Oberstein made his Major League debut on April 5th, making one relief appearance, allowing one earned run on three hits over two and two-thirds innings, taking the loss as the Red Sox fell to the Padres.
Oberstein has been used strictly in a relief role for Worcester, allowing seven earned runs on 14 hits across 20 and two-thirds innings, good for a 3.05 ERA.
Despite being used in that relief role, though, Oberstein is still fairly stretched out, throwing multiple innings in five of his last seven appearances.
They also have 23-year-old lefty Eduardo Rivera, who, like Oberstein, made a brief appearance on the Major League roster, tossing three scoreless innings, striking out three against the Yankees on April 22nd.
Like Oberstein, he's been used in a pretty strict relief role in Triple-A, but a multi-inning relief role, posting a 2.84 ERA across 38 innings, holding opponents to a 189 batting average while striking out 10.89 batters per nine innings.
Ultimately, it'll probably come down to the Red Sox pitching staff's performance in Friday night's series opener against the Mets and whether or not interim manager Chad Tracy has to tax that elite Red Sox bullpen
