The Boston Red Sox are playing a high-stakes game with their pitching staff. They are making a big change to the rotation right before a crucial weekend against the Kansas City Royals. It is a gutsy move that shows exactly how much the club wants to stay in the hunt.
According to Tim Healey of the Boston Globe, the team is swapping the order of their top starters. Sonny Gray is set to take the mound on Friday. Ranger Suarez will follow him on Saturday. This means Suarez will be pitching on eight days of rest, per reports. The rotation also includes Payton Tolle starting on Sunday.
The Risk of the Suarez Reset
I am not convinced this shuffle is a smooth ride. While the extra rest sounds great, the recent numbers for Suarez are scary. He has struggled significantly during the second half of this season. In eight starts since his recent slump, he has managed only about 40 innings with a 4.12 ERA. His ability to control the zone has also vanished, as he holds a 25:14 strikeout to walk ratio.
The club is paying him $26 million for this year and the next four years. You cannot throw that kind of money at a pitcher and expect him to fail when the playoffs loom. He has to find himself again immediately. If he cannot stabilize, this rotation shakeup might just be moving deck chairs on a sinking ship.
The Rotation Strategy
This looks like a blueprint for a potential Wild Card series. If the Red Sox end up in a best-of-three format, this is likely how they will line up their arms. It shows the team is thinking about the long haul. They are trying to maximize the health of their big names for the stretch run.
The pitching staff has been a force lately. Since June 25, the team has posted a 3.38 ERA. That mark is the second-best in the big leagues, trailing only the New York Yankees. When you combine that elite arm work with a hot offense, you get a team that belongs in October.
Looking Ahead to the Royals
The Royals are the last team on the schedule that could be called an easy matchup. Boston needs to protect their position in the American League race. They currently sit in third place in the East, seven games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. The pressure is on to win this series and keep the momentum from their 48-20 run since late June.
