Article: Three Starters To Begin Season on the Injured List, but for How Long?

[Nick John]

The Red Sox are down three starters, but their ample rotation depth means that they might not miss a beat.

With the regular season only a few days away, the Boston Red Sox roster decisions are coming down to the last few spots in the bullpen. However, the spring didn’t go as planned, as the starting rotation is dealing with a few injuries. The good news is that the team has the depth to handle those losses.

Since Craig Breslow took over, starting pitching depth a priority. Richard Fitts and Quinn Priester were brought in through trades, while the likes of Cooper Criswell, Patrick Sandoval, and Sean Newcomb signed contracts over the two offseasons. Those additions will come in handy, as three potential members of the starting rotation won’t be ready for the start of the season and will instead begin on the injured list. However, they may not be out for long.

Kutter Crawford was the first pitcher to go down. He has been dealing with a knee issue since he was drafted. In an interview with MassLive’s Sean McAdam, Crawford admits that this issue has been with him since 2017, but only during last season did it get bad enough to really bother him. Crawford did not get into a single game during spring training due to the issue, but he did throw off of flat ground and in the bullpen a few times. There is nothing set in stone yet in terms of a rehab appearance, but the hope is that he’ll be able to pitch in Boston before the end of April.

Brayan Bello has also been sidelined for a bit, but unlike Crawford looks to be closer to returning. Bello spent most of spring training ramping up after experiencing shoulder soreness at the start of camp. He progressed to throwing live batting practice, and his last appearance was in a minor league game on Saturday. In that game, he went 1 2/3 innings and he will throw again this upcoming Thursday in a minor league spring game in Fort Myers. The plan could change depending on how his shoulder recovers from Thursday’s outing, but Alex Cora said Bello will likely start twice during Worcester’s road trip to Jacksonville. If he’s finally built up after that, the belief is Bello will be back with Boston for the second road trip of the season in mid-April.

Lucas Giolito was the latest of the group to go down, straining his hamstring in his first spring training appearance. He lasted two innings in that game but felt the injury during his first batter. Giolito feels the injury isn’t too big of a deal, having dealt with worse. He continued to throw on the backfields and eventually pitched two scoreless innings in a minor league game on March 23rd. While nothing has been officially announced, Giolito himself said that the plan is to have him start his rehab assignment with Worcester when they make their road trip to Jacksonville at the start of April. If all goes well, he should be back with Boston at some point in April.

All three pitchers are expected to be key contributors to the Red Sox this season, so it’s good news  that they won’t be out for long periods of time. However, thanks to their pitching depth the Red Sox are fortunate to not have to rush any of them back and can instead allow them the proper time to get ready for the season. 

The rotation is shaping up to include Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler, Richard Fitts, and after an incredible spring training, Sean Newcomb. That could change quickly depending on the length of the rehab appearances for Bello, Crawford, and Giolito. While it hasn't been stated or even hinted at, it may be safe to assume that once healthy, Bello and Giolito will slot back into the rotation for Fitts and Newcomb. Of course, should the youngsters pitch well, it'll make for an interesting discussion between Cora and Breslow as they try to figure out the best rotation. There's a good chance that Fitts will be sent back to Worcester and Newcomb will either slot into the bullpen and serve as a multi-inning reliever if he pitches well, or be designated for assignment should he struggle. 

Once everyone is healthy, some tough conversations will be required to decide who stays in the rotation and who is sent to the bullpen, or even Worcester.

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[moonslav59]

We'll see when these guys come back, hopefully in April, who might be moved to the pen or demoted to AAA.

[mvp 78]

I'd be surprised if all three are back in April considering the injuries and that one is likely to need longer to rehab. 

[Bellhorn04]

Anything from Giolito seems like it would be a bonus at this point.  

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

I'd be surprised if all three are back in April considering the injuries and that one is likely to need longer to rehab. 

Yes, "back" means in AAA rehabbing for a few starts. Mid May might not even be realistic for 1 or 2 of these 3.

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Yes, "back" means in AAA rehabbing for a few starts. Mid May might not even be realistic for 1 or 2 of these 3.

This article projects all three to be "back in Boston" by the end of April though. That seemed a little aggressive to me. 

[moonslav59]

14 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

This article projects all three to be "back in Boston" by the end of April though. That seemed a little aggressive to me. 

Agreed. You can't just skip ST'ing, get 1 or 2 starts in AAA and jump into the rotation.

[Nick John]

4 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

I'd be surprised if all three are back in April considering the injuries and that one is likely to need longer to rehab. 

I think it's likely Bello and Giolito are back by mid to late April so long as they don't suffer setbacks. Crawford wanting to be back before the end of April I feel might be wishful thinking

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, Nick John said:

I think it's likely Bello and Giolito are back by mid to late April so long as they don't suffer setbacks. Crawford wanting to be back before the end of April I feel might be wishful thinking

Have these guys even been throwing hard off the mound, yet?

[Nick John]

Just now, moonslav59 said:

Have these guys even been throwing hard off the mound, yet?

It's mentioned in the article that both Bello and Giolito have pitched in minor league spring training games and Bello is throwing another tomorrow. Then after that they're both pitching for the Woosox. Plan for Bello is to hope his shoulder responds well after the two starts with the Woosox to rejoin Boston after that. Giolito will have one start with the Woosox and see how his hamstring is before deciding if he needs one more or will come to Boston. 

[notin]

I imagine it will be a couple weeks of having 3 starters on the IL until we can FINALLY get that fourth one on it, too…

[mvp 78]

15 hours ago, Nick John said:

I think it's likely Bello and Giolito are back by mid to late April so long as they don't suffer setbacks. Crawford wanting to be back before the end of April I feel might be wishful thinking

I agree with this assessment.

I think Giolito was probably healthy enough to pitch, but the Sox used the muscle "tweaking" as IL time to continue to work on Gio working his way back from TJS. He really didn't pitch all that much in ST and didn't look all that great when he was in, but I'm not sure if he's going to be very good until middle of the season anyway. It's going to take a while for him to really be 100%, but you can't hold him out just because his stuff isn't back yet. 

Bello is probably on the same track as last year and is most likely the first to arrive in BOS.

Crawford may be the last to come back and I wouldn't be surprised if they are extra careful with him. It seems clear that if this injury existed last season and now is keeping him out that they rode him too hard last year. I don't know if he's even back in May. My concern is that rest clearly didn't solve the problem, so maybe only surgery will.