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Red Sox Notes: Alfaro, Goodrum, Tapia, Allen

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Catcher Jorge Alfaro is in camp with the Red Sox on a minor league deal and it was reported about three weeks ago that he has an upward mobility clause in his contract. Today, Chris Cotillo of MassLive has the details on how that will play out.

If Alfaro is not added to the club’s 40-man roster today, he can request that the Sox email the other 29 clubs, which they must do within 24 hours. Those other clubs will then have 24 hours to express their interest in giving Alfaro a spot on their own respective rosters. If one or multiple clubs are willing to give Alfaro a spot, Boston has 72 hours to decide whether or not to add Alfaro to their roster or let him join one of the other interested teams. If more than one team is interested, the Sox can choose which one he goes to.

The Red Sox only have two catchers on their 40-man roster at the moment, who are Reese McGuire and Connor Wong. The latter of those two was dealing with a hamstring strain earlier in spring, which seemed to open the door for Alfaro to get a job. However, Wong now seems healthy and back in the mix for a spot on the Opening Day roster. The Sox would surely love to keep Alfaro around as depth in the event another injury pops up, but it will depend on his level of interest from other clubs around the league.

Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com reports that utility player Niko Goodrum also has an upward mobility clause that gets going today, though it’s not known if it will take the exact same shape as Alfaro’s. The 31-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox on the heels of a rough season with the Astros. He hit .116/.156/.163 last year while striking out in 51.1% of his 45 plate appearances. He was optioned by the Astros but an injury limited him to just 20 minor league games for the year. He was released by Houston and the Red Sox took a flier on him but he’s hitting just .178/.275/.178 in spring so far. He can play all over the diamond but likely has steep odds of making the team, as he’s competing against guys who already have roster spots. Rob Refsnyder and Jarren Duran are candidates for a backup outfield job, while Bobby Dalbec and Yu Chang are potential bench infielders.

Another option for a job with the Red Sox is outfielder Raimel Tapia, who’s also in camp on a minor league deal. Hatfield adds that Tapia can opt-out of his deal on Monday if not added to the roster. Tapia was with the Blue Jays last year and hit .265/.292/.380 for a wRC+ of 90. With the Sox moving Enrique Hernández to cover shortstop while Trevor Story is injured, they have some uncertainty in center field. Adam Duvall is set to be the regular option there, though the 34-year-old has never seen extended time there. Tapia has primarily been a left fielder in his career, though he did play center in 38 games last year and the Sox are reportedly open to using him there as well. Perhaps that ability to play center gives him an edge in the battle for bench jobs in Boston, though he’s not on the 40-man right now. The club will evidently have to make a decision in the next couple of days or they could watch him walk away from his contract. He’s having a nice spring, hitting .325/.372/.600 thus far.

The Sox currently have a full 40-man roster and would have to open up some spots if they want to add anyone from this group. Should any of this group not make the club and then end up sticking around, they will have more options to opt out in the future. Per Hatfield, Goodrum can opt out on May 1 and July 1, Alfaro on June 1 and July 1 and Tapia on July 1. Additionally, outfielder Greg Allen has an upward mobility clause on May 15 and June 15.

Red Sox Notes: Crawford, Mills, Wong, Tapia

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Right-hander Kutter Crawford will begin the season in the Red Sox’s rotation, manager Alex Cora confirmed (link via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe). He’s expected to take the ball for the fourth game of the season, the opener of a series against the Pirates.

It’s not likely to be a long-term stint. Crawford steps in with Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello both opening the year on the 15-day injured list. Whitlock, in particular, is expected back midway through the season’s first month. Assuming each of Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Nick Pivetta remain healthy by that point, Crawford could find himself in long relief or optioned back to Triple-A Worcester. Potential returns from Bello and James Paxton later on would push him further down the depth chart.

Crawford, 27 next month, started 12 of 21 outings for the Sox last season. He pitched to a 5.47 ERA in 77 1/3 innings overall, though his 23.1% strikeout percentage and 8.7% walk rate were both solid. He predictably missed more bats in relief than he did as a starter but threw more strikes when working from the rotation.

In other news out of Boston:

  • Reliever Wyatt Mills has been shut down from throwing after experiencing elbow inflammation, Speier writes. Fortunately, the issue is believed to be muscular rather than structural. Mills still seems likely to open the season on the 15-day IL but there doesn’t appear to be concern about a long-term absence in spite of the ominous-sounding diagnosis. Boston acquired the righty from the Royals over the winter, sending minor league reliever Jacob Wallace back to Kansas City. Mills split the 2022 campaign between Seattle and K.C., throwing 29 1/3 frames of 4.60 ERA ball. He still has a minor league option year remaining and wasn’t a lock to crack the season-opening bullpen.
  • Catcher Connor Wong was hampered by a left hamstring strain early in camp. While the issue initially seemed as if it could lead to a season-opening IL stint, Wong now looks on track to be ready for Opening Day. Cora told reporters yesterday the 26-year-old backstop was a “full go” at this point (relayed by Ian Browne of MLB.com). With a week left until the start of the regular season, he should be in position to open the year on the roster. Wong and Reese McGuire are the two backstops on the 40-man. The catching outlook is one area the Sox will have to sort out in the coming days, as Boston could lose minor league signee Jorge Alfaro to an upward mobility clause in his contract if they’re not willing to put him on the MLB club. Alfaro has been on a tear in Spring Training, collecting 11 hits (including two homers) in 21 at-bats.
  • Like Alfaro, Raimel Tapia is a veteran in camp on a minor league deal. The lefty-hitting outfielder is battling for a depth role behind the presumptive starting outfield of Masataka Yoshida, Adam Duvall and Alex Verdugo. Righty-swinging Rob Refsnyder is a virtual lock to secure a bench role, as is a backup catcher. That’d leave two spots, one of which seems likely to go to an infielder. Tapia brings plus contact skills and speed, though he’s not a prototypical fourth outfielder considering he’s spent the bulk of his career in left field. Chad Jennings of the Athletic writes that Boston is increasingly open to using Tapia in center field, where he played a career-high 249 2/3 innings for Toronto last season. That would increase his chances of making the roster, particularly since his skillset would be complementary to that of Duvall. Tapia is 13-40 with two walks, six strikeouts and a pair of homers this spring.

Jed Lowrie Announces Retirement

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Former All-Star second baseman Jed Lowrie tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’s retiring after 15-year Major League career and a professional career that spanned parts of 18 seasons. Lowrie tells Slusser that he’s “gotten to the point where I listen to my body and when I think about playing another 162, I don’t want to do that.” He adds that he’s looking forward to spending time with his young family and is already an assistant coach with his daughter’s softball team.

Now 38 years old, Lowrie was the No. 45 overall draft pick by the Red Sox back in 2005. The Stanford product reached the Majors three years after being drafted, hitting .258/.339/.400 in 81 games as a rookie with the Sox in 2008. He spent parts of four seasons in Boston before being traded to the Astros in exchange for reliever Mark Melancon.

That stop in Houston wound up being for just one year, as the Astros traded Lowrie to the A’s on the heels of a solid .244/.331/.438 showing and netted Brad Peacock, Chris Carter and Max Stassi in that swap. He’d spend the next two seasons in Oakland, performing at a high level (.272/.334/.405) before reaching free agency and signing back with the Astros. In a full deja vu sequence, Lowrie spent one season in Houston and was traded to Oakland a second time — this time in exchange for righty Brendan McCurry.

Lowrie spent the next three seasons in green and gold, culminating with a 2018 All-Star season that saw him club a career-best 23 home runs. That standout campaign helped Oakland secure a postseason berth, though the 2018 A’s fell to the Yankees in the one-game Wild Card format. Lowrie went on to ink an ill-fated two-year deal with the Mets, with whom he was limited to just nine games due to ongoing knee troubles. Lowrie reached free agency and once again signed with the A’s, making good on a minor league deal and reemerging as the team’s regular second baseman. He signed one final deal with Oakland for the 2022 season but was limited to just 50 games.

Overall, Lowrie spent parts of seven seasons in Oakland, four in Boston, two in Houston and two in New York (though he was on the injured list for the bulk of that time). He’ll retire as a career .257/.330/.406 hitter (103 wRC+) with 121 home runs, 292 doubles, 17 triples, 590 runs scored, 594 runs batted in and eight stolen bases. He made an All-Star team and reached the postseason in six of his 15 seasons as a big leaguer.

Given his obvious talent, he’d surely have further padded those totals had he been able to avoid the injured list with more regularity, but health troubles followed him throughout his career. Lowrie most notably was plagued by a torn ligament in his thumb, a capsule tear in his knee and a broken finger in his right hand, amid several other nagging injuries. It’s easy to wonder what might have been with better health, but Lowrie’s career was still valued nearly 20 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, and just shy of 16 WAR per Baseball-Reference. He was regularly an average or better hitter when healthy, peaking with particularly big showings at the plate in 2010, 2013 and 2017-18. All told, he banked more than $60MM in salary over the course of his career and will be remembered particularly fondly for his time in Oakland.

What’s next for Lowrie isn’t clear, but he tells Slusser that he “loves the game too much” to simply ride off into the sunset. Lowrie adds that he has a “deep-rooted obsession with seeing the game continue to evolve, continue to get better, continue to promote participation and see it thrive because it’s the best game in the world.” Best wishes to Lowrie in whatever path he takes in the next step of what sounds like a lifelong baseball journey.

Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By MLB Catcher Ryan Lavarnway

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Ryan Lavarnway played parts of 10 MLB seasons as a depth catcher. One day after announcing his retirement, he chatted live with MLBTR readers. Click here to read a transcript of the chat.

Ryan Lavarnway entered the professional ranks in 2008. A sixth-round draftee by the Red Sox out of Yale, he was in the majors within three years. Lavarnway debuted in August 2011, appearing in 17 games. He’d get into 46 contests the following season, tallying what would end up being a career-high 166 plate appearances. Lavarnway didn’t hit well that year but contributed a .299/.329/.429 line over 25 games for Boston’s eventual World Series winning club in 2013.

After one more season in Boston, he’d start to move around the league as a third/fourth catcher. Lavarnway split the 2015 season between the Orioles and Braves. He’d appear at the big league level with a different team for five more years, suiting up with the A’s, Pirates, Reds, Marlins and Indians through 2021. Lavarnway’s games played tally was in the single digits in all five seasons. That he got opportunities, however brief, with nearly a third of the league was a testament both to his strong clubhouse reputation and a quality .267/.360/.432 line in more than 2500 Triple-A plate appearances.

The California native ultimately appeared in 165 big league games over parts of ten seasons. He hit .217/.272/.345 with nine home runs, 30 doubles and 50 RBI over 486 plate appearances. He also represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics and twice in the World Baseball Classic. Lavarnway won Pool A MVP honors at the WBC in 2017 after collecting eight hits in 18 at-bats to help the team to a second-round berth that surprised most observers.

Lavarnway played in three games for Israel during this year’s World Baseball Classic to officially wrap up his playing career. Once the tournament ended, he announced his retirement in a thoughtful piece for The Athletic that’s well worth a read in full. Lavarnway conceded he didn’t have a great collection of physical tools but pointed to perseverance, love for the game, and strong support from coaches and teammates for helping him to a 15-year professional career.

Ryan graciously agreed to chat with MLBTR readers this morning. Click here to read a transcript.

Ryan Lavarnway Announces Retirement

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Ryan Lavarnway will be chatting with MLBTR readers tomorrow at 10am Central. Click here to ask questions in advance or join in the chat when it’s in progress!

Veteran catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who spent parts of 10 seasons in the Majors and 15 seasons in pro ball overall, announced his retirement on Wednesday in a thoughtful and poignant piece at The Athletic. Fans of any team are encouraged to read through Lavarnway’s piece, which deftly details the trials and tribulations of a prototypical journeyman who overcame a self-admitted lack of athleticism in large part due to a “sixth tool” — being “really, really good at not quitting.”

Lavarnway, 35, was a sixth-round pick by the Red Sox in 2008 and was twice named the organization’s minor league offensive player of the year. He’s twice suited up for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic and played 25 games with the 2013 World Series champion Red Sox.

Lavarnway never cemented himself as a regular in the big leagues despite hitting his way into being a prospect of some note with the Sox. The well-traveled backstop writes that he wore 18 different uniforms over his career and was optioned, traded, claimed on waivers or released a combined 26 times throughout his career. Along the way, he appeared for the Red Sox, Pirates, Braves, Athletics, Marlins, Reds, Indians and Orioles.

While he never topped 46 big league games or 166 big league plate appearances in a season, Lavarnway saw a total of 165 MLB games and 486 trips to the plate, during which he batted .217/.272/.345 with nine homers. He wound up accruing more than three years of Major League service time throughout his many MLB stints. Lavarnway also spent parts of 11 seasons in Triple-A, where he was a combined .267/.360/.432 hitter with 79 more homers in 2580 plate appearances. Best wishes to Lavarnway in whatever next step he pursues.

MLBTR Poll: Who Will Win The AL East?

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The AL East was perhaps the strongest division in baseball last season, with three teams that made the postseason, four that finished above .500, and a fifth place team that would have finished third in most other divisions. Given that divisional strength last season, it’s no surprise that Fangraphs’ Playoff Odds give every team in the AL East at least an 8% chance to make the playoffs. By contrast, no other division’s projected last place team tops Detroit’s 3.1% odds. With Opening Day just over a week away, let’s take a look at the AL East’s five clubs (in order of their finish in the 2022 standings) in search of the division’s next champion.

New York Yankees (99-63 in 2022)

The Yankees were historically dominant in the first half of the 2022 season, but struggled to a 43-42 finish in the regular season after the calendar flipped to July, largely buoyed by the heroics of AL MVP (and pending free agent) Aaron Judge. Most of the focus this offseason in the Bronx was on retaining Judge, which they did on a nine-year deal. They also re-signed Anthony Rizzo to lock down first base, but signed just two new players to big league deals this offseason: lefty ace Carlos Rodon signed a six-year deal while reliever Tommy Kahnle signed on for two years. What’s worth, both of those free agent acquisitions are expected to open the season on the injured list alongside trade deadline pickups Harrison Bader and Frankie Montas.

Between an offseason marked by a low quantity (though high quality) of additions and a slew of spring injuries, this Yankees team looks unlikely to reach the heights they did in the first half of 2022, having lost the likes of Jameson Taillon and Matt Carpenter to free agency this offseason, but perhaps healthy returns from the likes of Rodon and Bader can help them improve upon their second half struggles from last season, to say nothing of exciting prospects like Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe who seem likely to impact the club at some point this year.

Toronto Blue Jays (92-70 in 2022)

After a solid campaign that saw the Blue Jays return to the playoffs in a full season for the first time since 2016, Toronto was aggressive in mixing up their roster throughout the offseason. In an effort to get more left-handed and improve the defense, the club added Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier to their outfield mix at the expense of Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and top catching prospect Gabriel Moreno while also landing Brandon Belt to solidify the DH spot. As for the pitching staff, Chris Bassitt was brought in to solidify the middle of the rotation behind Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah, while Erik Swanson will strengthen the back of the Toronto bullpen.

While the Blue Jays certainly made significant changes over the course of the season, whether they can surpass the Yankees to claim the division crown will likely require returns to form for some players who performed below expectations in 2022, such as Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi, both of whom figure to open the season in the rotation despite posting ERAs north of 5.00 last season.

Tampa Bay Rays (86-76 in 2022)

After making their fourth consecutive postseason in 2022, the Rays had a very quiet offseason, with no major trade acquisitions and right-hander Zach Eflin standing as their lone major league signing. Indeed, it seems most of Tampa Bay’s resources were dedicated to extensions, as they agreed to long-term deals with Pete Fairbanks, Yandy Diaz, and Jeffery Springs shortly after the calendar flipped to 2023. That left the roster churn this offseason to be defined by departures rather than additions, as key players like Kevin Kiermaier, Mike Zunino and Ji-Man Choi departed the organization.

Still, the Rays have plenty of assets in place with which to make things interesting, as young players like Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, and Isaac Parades turned in excellent performances in 2022. With so few changes to the roster following a season where they finished 13 games back in the division race, however, the Rays are likely going to have to bank on improved health from stars Tyler Glasnow and Wander Franco along with bigger contributions from players who struggled last season like Brandon Lowe, Taylor Walls and Francisco Mejia if they are to claim the NL East crown this year.

Baltimore Orioles (83-79 in 2022)

The Orioles were one of the most fascinating stories of the 2022 season, as the club surged in the summer months toward surprise contention after not having won more than 54 games since 2017, though they ultimately failed to make the postseason. With young talent like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Grayson Rodriguez all either already in the big leagues or knocking on the door, with still more prospects to come, it seemed as though the rebuild in Baltimore was over.

Expectations have surely been tempered among the Orioles faithful after a relatively quiet offseason, however. Kyle Gibson, Adam Frazier, and Mychal Givens made up the club’s free agent signings this offseason. That said, Mike Elias’s front office did fairly well on the trade market, picking up Cole Irvin to solidify the rotation and James McCann to back up Rutschman. After a surprise surge over .500 in 2022, it’s easy to imagine the Orioles slipping back underwater in 2023. That being said, with so much young talent breaking into the majors and percolating in the upper levels of the farm system, they certainly can’t be ruled out from making a surprise push into playoff contention or even toward the division title.

Boston Red Sox (78-84 in 2022)

2022 was a difficult season for the Red Sox, as the club finished three games under .500 despite opting not to sell off valuable players like Xander Bogaerts, Nathan Eovaldi and J.D. Martinez who went on to walk in free agency this offseason. The headline move of this offseason for the Red Sox has to be Rafael Devers signing a ten-year extension back in January, but the Red Sox were active players in the offseason marketplace as well, adding Mastaka Yoshida, Corey Kluber, Justin Turner, Kenley Jansen, and Adalberto Mondesi, among others. Still, the departures of Bogaerts, Eovaldi, Martinez, Rich Hill, and Michael Wacha, in addition to the deadline trade that sent Christian Vazquez out of the organization, all left plenty of question marks on the roster.

Those questions are particularly worrisome up the middle, where the Red Sox figure to use Adam Duvall, Enrique Hernandez, Reese McGuire, and Christian Arroyo to open the season. The Red Sox enter 2023 with more than enough talent on the roster to attempt to return to contention this season. That being said, there’s enough question marks and holes in the roster that it’s just as easy to see another sub-.500 season from this club as it is to see a return to the playoffs after missing out in 2022.

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While this division ultimately seems most likely to come down to the Yankees and the Blue Jays, who both finished well ahead of the competition in 2022 and improved most significantly over the offseason, the AL East could certainly see all five of its clubs in the thick of the postseason hunt come the summertime. What do MLBTR readers think? Will the Yankees reclaim the crown, will the Blue Jays or Rays surge from their Wild Card spots to capture the division title, or will the Orioles or Red Sox surprise? Let us know in the poll below.

(poll link for app users)

Red Sox’ Joely Rodríguez Diagnosed With Grade 2 Oblique Strain

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Red Sox left-hander Joely Rodríguez has a Grade 2 oblique strain, manager Alex Cora tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Cora declined to provide a timetable for the southpaw, saying only that he would return “whenever he’s ready.” However, even mild oblique strains usually lead to absences of a few weeks, so Rodríguez seems slated to miss significant time.

Rodríguez, 31, was signed in the offseason to a one-year, $2MM deal with a club option for 2024. He spent last year with the Mets, posting a 4.47 ERA over 55 appearances. He walked 12% of batters faced but got strikeouts at a 26.4% rate and grounders at a 53.8% clip. It’s possible that he deserved better than that ERA indicates, as his .303 batting average on balls in play and his 63.3% strand rate were both on the unlucky side of average. His 3.23 FIP and 3.54 SIERA suggest he could be better if his luck were to even out.

Unfortunately, he will have to wait a while to test that luck with his new club, as he’s likely going to be out of action for a while. Though Cora wouldn’t provide any specifics on the estimated return timeline, there are some recent examples with more details. The Rays, for instance, gave an estimate of six-to-eight weeks when Tyler Glasnow recently suffered his own Grade 2 oblique strain. Every injury is different and it can’t simply be assumed that Rodriguez is looking at the same timeframe, but that can at least provide a rough guideline for what might be on the table here.

The Sox were set to have two lefties in their Opening Day bullpen, with Richard Bleier being the other. There are no other lefty relievers on the 40-man roster, but this news will perhaps open the door for someone else to make the club. Ryan Sherriff was signed to a minor league deal this offseason and could be an option. He was reassigned to minor league camp last week but this new info could perhaps increase his chances of making the club.

If the Sox are interested in external additions, the free agent market still features guys like Zack Britton and Ross Detwiler. It’s also possible that some new names will join them on the open market as Opening Day approaches and other clubs make their final roster decisions.

Red Sox Acquire Angel Pierre From Royals

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The Red Sox announced that infielder Angel Pierre has been acquired from the Royals.  Pierre is the player to be named later included along with Adalberto Mondesi in the January swap that sent Josh Taylor to Kansas City.

Pierre was an international signing for the Royals in January 2022, and the 19-year-old’s first year as professional saw him hit .300/.424/.550 with two home runs over 125 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League.  Pierre hails from “the Cradle of Shortstops” in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, but he mostly played third base in DSL action, with a handful of games as a shortstop and second baseman.

Red Sox Notes: Rodriguez, Paxton, Meneses

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Red Sox reliever Joely Rodriguez left today’s game with what the team described as right torso pain.  The discomfort was visible, as The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham (Twitter link) described Rodriguez as “groaning in pain as he went to the clubhouse and was holding onto his side.”  The somewhat vague wording of the club’s official announcement is perhaps a positive sign that Rodriguez didn’t suffer an immediate oblique strain, or it could simply indicate that a fuller battery of tests has yet to be run to determine the left-hander’s status.

At the very least, Rodriguez’s injury creates some doubt about his availability with Opening Day just 12 days away.  Rodriguez signed a one-year deal worth $2MM in guaranteed money back in November, and the Sox also hold a $4.25MM club option on his services for the 2024 campaign.  Rodriguez and Richard Bleier (also new to the Red Sox, via a January trade with the Marlins) were penciled in as the bullpen’s left-handed options, but if Rodriguez has to miss any time, minor league signings Ryan Sherriff or Matt Dermody could have a sudden path to the MLB roster, or the Sox could opt for in-house prospects Chris Murphy or Brandon Walter.

More from Boston’s camp…

  • James Paxton threw 25 pitches off a mound today, and told MLB.com’s Ian Browne and other reporters that he felt “good.  I wasn’t thinking about the hamstring at all.”  A Grade 1 hamstring strain kept Paxton off the mound for 15 days, so the southpaw will have to start the season on the injured list to give himself more time to properly ramp up.  The tentative plan for Paxton’s rehab is for one or two more mound sessions, two live batting-practice sessions, and then a return to spring game action.
  • The Nationals got an unexpected breakout from Joey Meneses last season, as the 30-year-old made his MLB debut and proceeded to hit .324/.367/.563 with 13 homers over 240 plate appearances.  While it seemed like Meneses came out of nowhere, he actually came to D.C. after two seasons in the Red Sox organization, and Meneses hit a combined .284/.333/.530 over 369 PA at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2021.  Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes that while the Sox had interest in bringing Meneses back on another minor league deal, but since Triston Casas was going to be the priority at first base for Triple-A Worchester, Meneses might’ve seen a reduction in at-bats.  “If we had seen this coming, he’d probably still be here,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said.  “Sometimes guys just break through at different points in their career, different ages, different places.  Happy to see him be able to do that and just be able to sustain it in the big leagues and the [World Baseball Classic].”

Latest On The Red Sox’ Rotation

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The Red Sox’ rotation will likely be down several starters to begin the season, as MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo writes that each of Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello and James Paxton are expected to begin the season on the injured list. Paxton had already been trending in this direction, but Whitlock and Bello now join him in missing at least the beginning of the 2023 season. Cotillo notes that Whitlock, who got a late start while recovering from hip surgery is expected to be ready sometime in mid-April. Bello, who battled forearm tightness early in camp, should follow shortly thereafter. Paxton isn’t expected to return until May at the earliest.

The Red Sox announced this week that offseason signee Corey Kluber would get the nod on Opening Day. Left-hander Chris Sale, eyeing for a rebound campaign after a dreadful run of injuries in recent seasons, is slated to start the second game of the season. Righties Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck and likely Kutter Crawford should round out the quintet to begin the year.

With Whitlock and Bello both expected to return by the end of the season’s first month, though, the rotation will likely be reconfigured early in the regular season. Crawford, who struggled to a 5.47 ERA in 77 2/3 frames last season, figures to be the odd man out once either Whitlock or Bello is able to reclaim a  spot in the starting staff. In that case, Crawford would figure to serve as optionable rotation depth alongside Josh Winckowski.

Assuming everyone remains healthy by the time both Whitlock and Bello are ready to return, the Sox will be faced with a decision between Houck and Pivetta for the final rotation spot. Pivetta made a league-leading 33 starts last season and paced the team with 179 2/3 innings pitched. That impressive volume came with mediocre results, however, as the right-hander posted a slightly below-average 4.56 ERA during the 2022 campaign.

Houck, meanwhile, has been a successful pitcher both as a starter (3.22 ERA in 92 1/3 innings) and a reliever (2.68 ERA in 53 2/3 innings) to this point in his career. The former first-rounder has long been seen as a potential rotation piece at Fenway, but the Red Sox were noncommittal early in the offseason when asked about his role. Houck also had back surgery late last season and ended the year on the injured list after making 28 of his 32 appearances as a reliever. It’s easy to see why the Sox would be intrigued by the idea of Houck upping his workload this year and even getting some more run in the starting staff, but he’s coming off a 60-inning season that ended in back surgery; a jump to a full starter’s workload would be something of a surprise.

Of course, this needn’t be a strict either-or proposition. Situations like this tend to work themselves out, often as injuries pop up elsewhere on a pitching staff. Getting Houck some early rotation work and perhaps moving him to a multi-inning relief/sixth starter role once everyone is healthy would be a good means of managing his workload as he ramps up from last year’s 60 innings.

Even if the plan is to ride Houck as a starter as long as possible, that doesn’t mean Pivetta will be decidedly forced out of the rotation. Given that each of Sale, Whitlock, Bello, Houck, Kluber and especially Paxton have some notable injuries within the past few seasons, it’s likely the Sox will need to shuffle through quite a few starters. All six of their top options figure to spend ample time in the rotation this summer, and they’ll also have depth options like Crawford, Winckowski, Brandon Walter, Chris Murphy and Bryan Mata as candidates for rotation work down in the minors.

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