Richard Fitts’ Injury Pushes Red Sox Pitching Depth Even Further

On Sunday, the Red Sox announced that they had moved rookie starter Richard Fitts on the 15-day injured list due to a mild right pectoral strain. To take his spot on the roster, the Red Sox called up Michael Fulmer, who signed a two-year minor league deal in February 2024, to take Fitts spot on the roster. Fitts was dealing against the White Sox on Saturday, allowing just two hits and a walk to the White Sox over five scoreless innings, but the injury forced him to leave the game in the sixth inning. At the time, he seemed to grab the area under his shoulder the injury was described as “right shoulder pain.” Shoulder injuries are particularly dreaded, so the news that Fitts has only strained a muscle comes as something as a relief. Although he hasn’t notched a win yet, Fitts has a 3.18 ERA and 3.88 FIP over three starts.

Yesterday, the Red Sox announced that an MRI revealed that the strain was mild. “So it’s not as bad as what we thought,” Alex Cora told reporters on Monday afternoon. “Obviously timetable, we don’t know yet. But out of the bad news, it’s the best possible result.” According to Baseball Prospectus’s recovery dashboard, over the past nine seasons, pitchers who have suffered a pectoral strain miss an average of 34 days, with the median absence being 28 days. If Fitts' recovery follows that general pattern, then the team should expect him back in mid-May. 

Fitts was one of the team’s more exciting stories during spring training. He excelled during a cup of coffee last season, then came into camp with increased velocity and a completely revamped repertoire. He earned a spot in the starting rotation coming out of camp, and the team’s recent trade of Quinn Priester seemed to solidify Fitts’ roster spot further. However, at this point, it’s not necessarily a guarantee that he’ll end up back in the rotation when he returns. Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito have both started rehab assignments in Worcester and will be back in Boston well before mid-May unless they undergo some sort of setback. Current indications are that Bello has one more rehab start coming and Giolito will start tonight and then require one more start after that. With Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, and Tanner Houck already healthy, Bello and Giolito could round out the five-man rotation, relegating Fitts to a bullpen role or even back to Worcester.

There have been very few updates about the knee discomfort that has kept Kutter Crawford out, but Patrick Sandoval is also expected to return from his internal brace procedure at some point during the second half. The Red Sox came into the season with enviable starting pitching depth, and they’ve had to avail themselves of it early and often. Giving significant innings to Sean Newcomb and Hunter Dobbins definitely wasn’t the plan. Newcomb's 4.97 ERA leaves a lot be desired, but his 2.53 FIP is surprisingly good.

The team has indicated that Fulmer will start out in a long relief role, and he got his first taste of that during Monday's brutal loss to the Rays, allowing three earned runs over 2 2/3 innings. If he pitches well, he could end up starting too. Fulmer missed the entire 2024 surgery after undergoing Tommy John revision surgery in October 2023, and he hasn’t pitched regularly as a starter since 2020. Over three starts in Worcester this season, he’s run a 3.09 ERA and 3.33 FIP. His 37.5% strikeout rate is excellent, but his 12.5% walk rate is far from ideal, and he has allowed a worrisome 56.5% hard-hit rate. His four-seamer has also averaged 92.4 mph, a big step down from the 94.3 mph he averaged before he got hurt in 2023, but that could just be a result of switching from a max-effort relief role to a starting role in which he’s expected to pitch deeper into games. Fulmer's four-seamer averaged 93 mph on Monday.

This is why teams invest in pitching depth, and if players like Fulmer, Newcomb, and Dobbins can help keep the team afloat until the cavalry arrives, the Red Sox should have a real chance at a division title. Entering Monday's games, they sat in third place, 1 1/2 games back of the Blue Jays, despite not getting a single appearance out of three of their best starting pitchers. It's a long season, and the Red Sox won't be the only team to have their depth tested like this. In the meantime, the Red Sox have yet to announce a starter for Wednesday's game or for Friday's game, which would be Fitts' spot in the rotation.