Even with this week’s signing of frontline left-hander Ranger Suarez, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow still made it clear Wednesday he expects to keep adding before Opening Day. The club needs at least one more infielder, and he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of more bullpen additions as well.
But as currently constructed, are the Red Sox a better team right now than they were at the end of last season? Breslow believes it’s possible.
“I think the improvements that we’ve made on the pitching side are significant,” Breslow said. “It can be difficult at times to fully appreciate the impact of having dominant starting pitching, but going into a game feeling like we can just play our game offensively and on the bases because our pitching is going to keep us in the game is such a huge advantage for the team. No matter who we’re playing on any given day we’re going to feel like we have a chance to win.”
Last year the Red Sox won 89 games and reached the playoffs despite only getting consistent production from three of its starters. Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito pulled their weight, but between Walker Buehler’s disappointing season and a litany of injuries down the depth chart, the Red Sox managed a revolving door at the back of their rotation from start to finish.
Now with Suarez and fellow newcomers Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo on board, the Red Sox rotation should vault into the game’s elite.
The 30-year-old joins Crochet, Gray and Bello along with a deep cast of depth arms who will compete for the final spot. That group includes Oviedo, returning veterans Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval — who each missed all of last year due to injury — and up-and-comers like Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and Kyle Harrison.
With so many candidates, Breslow acknowledged that the organization is considering the possibility of using a six-man rotation, something the Red Sox also discussed last year before injuries took their toll.
“It’s something we’ve discussed and we’ll continue to discuss it because we feel like our rotation is potentially an advantage for us,” Breslow said. “We’ll have to balance the benefits of giving guys extra rest with the effect that could have on the bullpen. Over the course of the season between off days and weather, most pitchers don’t actually operate on a pretty rigid five-man schedule, so that rest tends to get baked in but there may be times where we choose to employ that.”
Big picture, Suarez and Crochet will give the Red Sox a formidable one-two punch at the front of its rotation for at least the next five years. The fact that Crochet and Suarez are such different pitchers — Crochet is a fireballer while Suarez relies on his exceptional command and “guile” — is an added bonus that could present a challenge to opposing teams within a series, Breslow said.
“I think the parallel is like, we talk about times through the order in a game but then you also start to think about the number of times a lineup would be exposed to the same reliever in a series,” Breslow said. “I think this idea of contrasting Garrett and Ranger in two different styles of pitching could make for a really difficult time for a hitter.”
During Wednesday’s introductory press conference Breslow said the organization identified Suarez early on as its top free agent starting pitcher target and that conversations between the sides have been going on for months. Though he didn’t characterize the decision as a “pivot” after the club’s failed pursuit of Alex Bregman, he said talks accelerated in the following days and that Suarez’s arrival will go a long way towards helping the Red Sox reach their goals.
“I never discount the reality that in free agency players have a choice about where they want to sign, where they want to bring their family, what kind of future they want to hold,” Breslow said. “And we’re super excited Ranger chose Boston.”
