BOSTON — Red Sox manager John Farrell confirmed Thursday that rookie starter Eduardo Rodriguez won’t be headed back to the minors any time soon.
After allowing one run in 14 2/3 innings over his first two major league starts, the 22-year-old left-hander will make his next start Tuesday against the team that drafted him, the Baltimore Orioles.
“Eddie will split up both Clay (Buchholz) and Rick (Porcello),” Farrell said before Thursday’s matchup with the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park. “(He’ll start) Tuesday.”
Rodriguez’s addition to the fold has given the Red Sox a surplus of starting pitchers and prompted Farrell to employ a six-man rotation. That trend likely will not last long, however.
“Our plan is not to (stick with a six-man rotation),” Farrell said. “We’ll get through this weekend, where we need all six starters, but coming out of the off day (Monday), it’s our intent to get back to five starters. We’ve got through the remainder of this next series to get through that.”
Barring injury, the battle for the fifth and final spot will be between Steven Wright and Joe Kelly. Wright, who started Thursday’s series finale against Minnesota, owns a 3.90 ERA through five starts this season, while Kelly (5.83 ERA) has been the most hit-or-miss pitcher on the Red Sox’s staff, surrendering five or more earned runs in five of his outings and two or fewer in the remaining five. He’ll start Saturday against the Oakland A’s.
Thumbnail photo via Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Images
