Starting rotation injuries slow Red Sox spring start
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| The GM watching the first bullpen session of 2017 (Photo: masslive.com) |
Contributing Writer
The offseason is now a memory as the Red Sox kicking off Spring Training in Fort Myers, FL. with pitchers and catchers reporting.
There has been the notable hype around the new starter, Chris Sale, looking ready to kick off the 2017 season.
The returning AL CY winner Rick Porcello seems to be sharp as when he left off last season.
David Price is ready to prove he is worth every penny he is getting and own the role of number one starter.
What about the remaining openings in the starting rotation?
There are three pitchers in that conversation, all of them coming off of a season that ended with injuries. Steven Wright, Drew Pomeranz and Eduardo Rodriguez are all being monitored very closely and brought along slower than the rest.
Wright is coming back from an injured shoulder after diving back to second base while pinch running in a NL game, in August. Pomeranz received stem cell injections in his elbow last October after struggling through the second half of the season. Rodriguez injured his knee in 2016 Spring Training and tweaked it again in winter ball.
The situation is that there are two openings for three pitchers, all coming back from injuries. To compound the problem, Rodriguez is the only one with minor league options left which pretty much ensures he will be starting in Pawtucket. That's assuming everyone makes it through the spring without injury or set backs.
Masslive.com talked to manager John Farrell and he stated that they all have specialize routines to follow for at least the first five or six days of spring training to evaluate each of them.
Rodriguez hopes to pitch for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic is throwing his first bullpen today. He also did not participate in pitcher fielding drills held yesterday, instead working apart on agility.
Wright worked out on Monday throwing a 120-foot session and came out of that feeling no ill effects yesterday. For now he will be held to ground-based work and building arm strength for another week before he throws from a mound.
Farrell was a bit more cryptic with regards to Pomeranz, saying only that he is "in a good place" but won't work from a mound until next Monday.
"Everything as we mapped out on a calendar puts them in the normal number of appearances as a regular spring training," Farrell said. "We can take the added time in this first week to address some specific needs."
It's still early days, so keep your eyes on the developments around the Red Sox starting rotation. While this unfolds, enjoy the sounds of your three 'aces' as they pound the catchers mitts in this first bullpen session of 2017.
Post a comment or via twitter @erics_redsox with your thoughts.
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