Red Sox will regret not acquiring a starter at the deadline

[drewski6]

4 hours ago, southpaw777 said:

I understand that, but Are those guys coming off TJS just a year ago? 
Bennett will not be a playoff starter.

Can I borrow your crystal ball?

[southpaw777]

Just now, drewski6 said:

Can I borrow your crystal ball?

Just my prediction champ.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Or Bello could just pitch the first inning once the Sox staff realizes most of his first inning struggles came against the Orioles (twice) and Blue Jays, and he isn’t likely to see either of them in the postseason…

And hes also probably not in the same head space he was in when he was really lost.

[drewski6]

2 minutes ago, southpaw777 said:

Just my prediction champ.

You just seemed quite confident.

[drewski6]

Our 4 playoff starters should be......our hottest 4 pitchers.  Recent memory trumps all when it comes to winning playoff games.  What have you done for me, lately? dun-dun-dun-dun.  

Janet Jackson.

[southpaw777]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

You just seemed quite confident.

Well I am confident, from my managerial couch, that he won’t be a starter in the playoffs. 
but honestly, he’s already at 40ip over last year and There’s a month and a half to go before the playoffs. Do you believe they will just let him go until he can’t, or do you think he has a limit that they have discussed? He’s a big boy but he’s also a little over a year from returning from TJS. 
of course the team knows more than me, and I hope those two young arms are made of rubber and can go 80ip each over last years innings without any issues. I’m not so much concerned with Tolle as zi am with Bennett. I do now think Tolle could possibly start in the playoffs. I misread his ip. He’s only 22ip over last year.

 

[moonslav59]

4 hours ago, notin said:

If Alvarez wins the triple crown no voter is going to vote against him using the logic “but he played 24 games against the A’s and Angels”…

 

Nope, nor should they, but the fact is teams play 13 games vs own division (13 x 4) and 6 or 7 vs other divisions in same league (10 teams x 6-7 gms)

Everyone plays 3 games vs 14 teams and 4 games vs a different team.

That might not seem like much, and it's better than before but 13 games vs NYY, TBR, BAL & TOR is harder than vs SEA, TEX, LAA & ATH. 52 games is about 33%.

[Hugh2]

Bennett is looking tired, how much longer can the rest of our young pitchers keep going?

In the absence of injury a little rest goes A LONG way. 
 

this is precisely why I suggested a temporary 6 man rotation and a starter at the deadline.  

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

Bennett is looking tired, how much longer can the rest of our young pitchers keep going?

In the absence of injury a little rest goes A LONG way. 
 

this is precisely why I suggested a temporary 6 man rotation and a starter at the deadline.  

And this is why Rich Hill is ramping it up again. He should be ready to pitch again by October of 2018.

[notin]

19 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Our 4 playoff starters should be......our hottest 4 pitchers.  Recent memory trumps all when it comes to winning playoff games.  What have you done for me, lately? dun-dun-dun-dun.  

Janet Jackson.

And that’s why after having an ERA over 8 in 3 of the final 4 months of the 2018 season (including September), Joe Kelly was obviously left off the postseason roster and was never able to put up that ERA of 0.50 across 18 October innings that he actually put up and helped the Sox to a title.

Hypothetical situation grammar is tricky…

[notin]

28 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

And this is why Rich Hill is ramping it up again. He should be ready to pitch again by October of 2018.

I assume you mean the next 2018, after this current civilization collapses, a new one arises from its ashes, and they get to the point of enumerating years while hopefully discovering baseball.   So after 2,018 years, you’re saying Hill will be ready?

I do agree he won’t be retired…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 minutes ago, notin said:

I assume you mean the next 2018, after this current civilization collapses, a new one arises from its ashes, and they get to the point of enumerating years while hopefully discovering baseball.   So after 2,018 years, you’re saying Hill will be ready?

I do agree he won’t be retired…

All that already happened in history. They dug under those big heads on Easter Island and found statue bodies wearing Red Sox uniforms... originally in home whites but turned moldy through the centuries -- the PR dept. still thought it was cool, and now you know where they got the idea for their best-selling green jerseys.

[notin]

7 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

All that already happened in history. They dug under those big heads on Easter Island and found statue bodies wearing Red Sox uniforms... originally in home whites but turned moldy through the centuries -- the PR dept. still thought it was cool, and now you know where they got the idea for their best-selling green jerseys.

A lot of things have already happened in history and that doesn’t prevent their recurrence.  I mean, you’re talking about the Red Sox signing Rich Hill, an event that has happened so frequently, that not only has Ben Franklin added it to his certainties of life list, he now puts it ahead of taxes and just behind death…

[moonslav59]

4 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

Bennett is looking tired, how much longer can the rest of our young pitchers keep going?

In the absence of injury a little rest goes A LONG way. 
 

this is precisely why I suggested a temporary 6 man rotation and a starter at the deadline.  

I read somewhere the Sox will not limit the IP by Tolle & Bennett. Let's see how that choice works out, and if they get hurt this or next season.

It's hard to ignore that Bennett has let up 3-4 runs in 5 straight starts (4.0 to 6.1 IP.) Tolle looks stronger than ever.

2.35 ERA prior (3.00 FIP)

5.67 ERA last 5 starts, but a not bad 3.82 FIP,

We really have no other options as the 5th starter and a 6th starter is going into Holobetz/Wehunt territory and/or more burn out the pen games. I can't see Paez or Ziehl getting the call, but we did see Burgos and Seth Martinez promoted to the 40 and big club, so we never know.

A lot of posters complained about Brez putting too much focus on pitching, and that was before he pivoted from Bregman to Suarez. We started the season with our 6-10 SP'ers looking as good or better than several teams in MLB. (Not counting injuries)

1-5: Crochet, Gray, Suarez, Houck, Bello

6-10: Tolle, Early, Bennett, Crawford, Oviedo

Four on the 60 Day IL and the Early trade (on IL, too) turned the 10 into 5 only. The farm has Holobetz, Paez, Ziehl & Wehunt in AAA, and none started the year in AAA. It looks like AA has no realistic SP'ers that could jump to MLB: Futrell, Mullins, Rogers & Sansone

3.54 Wehunt POR>Woo (10th in IP) 82K:22BB

3.94 Futrell 3 teams (leads farm in IP) 108K:17 BB!!!

4.11 Holobetz POR>Woo (2nd in IP) 103K:26BB

4.12 Ziehl POR>Woo (3rd in IP) 109K:19BB!!!

4.13 Paez POR>Woo (52 IP + 3 IP MLB w CWS)61:6!!!

4.93 Mullins POR>Woo (8th in IP) 107K:48BB

5.66 Rogers FCL>POR (62 IP) 57K:50BB Double YUCK!

5.73 Sansone POR>Woo (6th in IP) 66K:45BB YUCK!

Maybe, going by the numbers, the depth charts is:

1. Paez 22 y/o

2. Ziehl 23

3. Wehunt 25/Futrell 23/Holobetz 25

 

 

 

[southpaw777]

Instead of getting a catcher that has gone 1-14 with 7 Ks, something Narvaez could have done just fine, we should have used those assets on a starter. Do you guys really think a catcher was more important this year than a starter? I like Adley, and the trade in general, but he wasn’t the most pressing need in my opinion. Pitching was. It’ll be even more obvious as the end of September approaches.
Bennett is starting to hit the wall, at least it’s starting to look that way. Tolle looks strong, thank God. Sandoval and/or Bello will HAVE to step it up because there’s no help on the way.

I complained that Breslow got rid of all our pitching depth, and I got a lot of pushback. I figured Breslow had to be an idiot to go get ANOTHER bat before getting a starter, even after Mead went down. But he did.
The deadline wasn’t bad, they just didn’t address the most important need. Starting pitching. I hope these guys don’t ruin either one of these young starters after not getting this rotation the help it absolutely needed. Bennett is about 45ip over last year, which is right around shutdown time. They aren’t machines and he looks like he’s running out of gas. Pitching tired leads to injuries and/or bad performances. Neither one is good.

 

[Old Red]

19 minutes ago, southpaw777 said:

Instead of getting a catcher that has gone 1-14 with 7 Ks, something Narvaez could have done just fine, we should have used those assets on a starter. Do you guys really think a catcher was more important this year than a starter? I like Adley, and the trade in general, but he wasn’t the most pressing need in my opinion. Pitching was. It’ll be even more obvious as the end of September approaches.
Bennett is starting to hit the wall, at least it’s starting to look that way. Tolle looks strong, thank God. Sandoval and/or Bello will HAVE to step it up because there’s no help on the way.

I complained that Breslow got rid of all our pitching depth, and I got a lot of pushback. I figured Breslow had to be an idiot to go get ANOTHER bat before getting a starter, even after Mead went down. But he did.
The deadline wasn’t bad, they just didn’t address the most important need. Starting pitching. I hope these guys don’t ruin either one of these young starters after not getting this rotation the help it absolutely needed. Bennett is about 45ip over last year, which is right around shutdown time. They aren’t machines and he looks like he’s running out of gas. Pitching tired leads to injuries and/or bad performances. Neither one is good.

 

Right now the RUT man is definitely looking like the RUST man. Only giving him 2 games down in Woo certainly didn’t help him any, and he could have used more AB down there instead of trying to get his timing back in Boston, Time will tell how the pitching Will all shake out come OCT.

[southpaw777]

1 minute ago, Old Red said:

Right now the RUT man is definitely looking like the RUST man. Only giving him 2 games down in Woo certainly didn’t help him any, and he could have used more AB down there instead of trying to get his timing back in Boston,

He was rushed back, I agree. If you’re not going to address your most important need at the deadline, at least get a guy that doesn’t have to rehab and get his timing back. 

[JoeBrady]

On 8/14/2026 at 4:54 PM, southpaw777 said:

I’m not so much concerned with Tolle as zi am with Bennett.

There is also the fact that he is not pitching well.    Rookie, IP limits, struggling recently?  I wouldn't bet on him having a big playoff role.

[moonslav59]

We might regret not getting another pen arm.

[southpaw777]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

There is also the fact that he is not pitching well.    Rookie, IP limits, struggling recently?  I wouldn't bet on him having a big playoff role.

Me either. I think Tolle will be able to go through September or very close though, whereas Bennett won’t.if anything Tolle will be a pen arm come October 

[southpaw777]

29 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We might regret not getting another pen arm.

At least we got a big LHP which is what we needed. I think we can take care of the pen easier than the rotation. 

[moonslav59]

16 minutes ago, southpaw777 said:

At least we got a big LHP which is what we needed. I think we can take care of the pen easier than the rotation. 

Both have been decimated by injuries and since no waiver deals can be made, our only way to "take care" of them is from the current system.

The best hope is returning IL players, which is hardly a realistic option.

If Whitlock, who has been our pen rock, especially since Chapman became sketchy, and Slaten do not return, are you really all that confident in Gamboa and Burgos? I never heard of these two before this season- same with TGuerrero, but he's won my trust. Bello's pen work has saved us. The further AAA help is Samaniego and non 40 guys: Bastardo, Olds, Song and Hobie Harris.

I'm not going to try and say the current rotation depth is any better: it's not. We simply cannot afford another start missed by out 5, now- let alone an IL stint. We have zero options in AAA that are on the 40. We'd have to add Holobetz, Paez, Ziehl or Wehunt. UGH!!!

Our best hope, and hope should never be a plan, is that 1-2 farm arms get healthy and quickly!

Whitlock and/or Slaten (Kelly) for the pen.

Crochet, Oviedo, Houck or Crawford for the rotation. (Some of these guys do not even have a rehab assignment planned, yet. Add 2-3 weeks to whenever that rehab start to even begin to expect anything resembling plus value.)

The pitching staff is stretched to the limit.

The staff looked to be as deep as I ever remembered it being in March/April.

[southpaw777]

39 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Both have been decimated by injuries and since no waiver deals can be made, our only way to "take care" of them is from the current system.

The best hope is returning IL players, which is hardly a realistic option.

If Whitlock, who has been our pen rock, especially since Chapman became sketchy, and Slaten do not return, are you really all that confident in Gamboa and Burgos? I never heard of these two before this season- same with TGuerrero, but he's won my trust. Bello's pen work has saved us. The further AAA help is Samaniego and non 40 guys: Bastardo, Olds, Song and Hobie Harris.

I'm not going to try and say the current rotation depth is any better: it's not. We simply cannot afford another start missed by out 5, now- let alone an IL stint. We have zero options in AAA that are on the 40. We'd have to add Holobetz, Paez, Ziehl or Wehunt. UGH!!!

Our best hope, and hope should never be a plan, is that 1-2 farm arms get healthy and quickly!

Whitlock and/or Slaten (Kelly) for the pen.

Crochet, Oviedo, Houck or Crawford for the rotation. (Some of these guys do not even have a rehab assignment planned, yet. Add 2-3 weeks to whenever that rehab start to even begin to expect anything resembling plus value.)

The pitching staff is stretched to the limit.

The staff looked to be as deep as I ever remembered it being in March/April.

Theyre resting a couple pen arms for a couple weeks. We can always call up guys for the pen. They’ll be back mid September. Hopefully. If not then we have options. No, not the best, but better than what we have for the rotation…which is nothing.
im hoping Crochet and Tolle can go to the pen for the playoffs. At least Crochet. It’s gonna be tricky for sure.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

We might regret not getting another pen arm.

We did trade for 1.  And I don't usually trade because I think someone might get injured.  And when you have the best BP in BB, you have to focus on the existing holes.

[Randy Red Sox]

On 8/12/2026 at 1:47 PM, southpaw777 said:

Bennett and Tolle will both hit a wall. There’s a month and a half left in the regular season, nevermind playoff innings.
Crochet will most likely be a bullpen arm and not stretched out to be a starter in October. Sandoval has been out two years so durability and stamina are LEGIT concerns.

So it’s Gray, Suarez (who’s not looked good since returning from the IL), Sandoval, and the wildcard Brayan Bello. Can Bello start again and have success?.. Is this what this team was going to rely on going into the playoffs? 
a lot of people wanted and said we needed another starter like we did in 2013 with Jake Peavy. Not a top guy, but a good solid starter that can handle the workload and take some innings from the others down the stretch. 
we’re going to have to hope the offense, with the additions of Adley Rucshman and a returning Roman Anthony, can carry us on some nights.
Besides a good bullpen arm, they didn’t address pitching, and personally, I think they will regret it. 

it's looking like you are right.  Bennet seems to have already hit a wall. They need to put Bello back in the rotation.  He has been better recently.

[Randy Red Sox]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Both have been decimated by injuries and since no waiver deals can be made, our only way to "take care" of them is from the current system.

The best hope is returning IL players, which is hardly a realistic option.

If Whitlock, who has been our pen rock, especially since Chapman became sketchy, and Slaten do not return, are you really all that confident in Gamboa and Burgos? I never heard of these two before this season- same with TGuerrero, but he's won my trust. Bello's pen work has saved us. The further AAA help is Samaniego and non 40 guys: Bastardo, Olds, Song and Hobie Harris.

I'm not going to try and say the current rotation depth is any better: it's not. We simply cannot afford another start missed by out 5, now- let alone an IL stint. We have zero options in AAA that are on the 40. We'd have to add Holobetz, Paez, Ziehl or Wehunt. UGH!!!

Our best hope, and hope should never be a plan, is that 1-2 farm arms get healthy and quickly!

Whitlock and/or Slaten (Kelly) for the pen.

Crochet, Oviedo, Houck or Crawford for the rotation. (Some of these guys do not even have a rehab assignment planned, yet. Add 2-3 weeks to whenever that rehab start to even begin to expect anything resembling plus value.)

The pitching staff is stretched to the limit.

The staff looked to be as deep as I ever remembered it being in March/April.

where is Oviedo at right now?

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

where is Oviedo at right now?

I think playing light toss with his neighbor.

His last "update" was July 24th on MLB.com:

Recently threw off the mound for the first time since injury.

[mvp 78]

16 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

it's looking like you are right.  Bennet seems to have already hit a wall. They need to put Bello back in the rotation.  He has been better recently.

They kind of are by going with the "bullpen" game and having Bello use an opener. It's basically using a six man rotation. Good for Tolle considering his metrics with extra rest.

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

They kind of are by going with the "bullpen" game and having Bello use an opener. It's basically using a six man rotation. Good for Tolle considering his metrics with extra rest.

Yes, Bello is often going as many innings as SP'ers, so it's like another starter.

[Hugh2]

18 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

it's looking like you are right.  Bennet seems to have already hit a wall. They need to put Bello back in the rotation.  He has been better recently.

Bello has been better because he's not starting.  Obviously it's some kind of mental block, which perhaps is only cured by having him just start and work through it.  I'd prefer to get him an opener and let him work through it in the offseason and 2027.