Not to be outdone, the Red Sox made a major move of their own, adding right-hander Josh Beckett to an already potent starting rotation on Friday.
The return of Beckett, who had missed the previous two months with a lower back strain, is tantamount to Boston pulling the trigger on a blockbuster deal. After he allowed just one run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 2-1 win over Seattle, the Sox could envision a stretch run complete with a healthy Beckett, a guy who has averaged more than 16 wins a year in a Boston uniform.
And unlike Oswalt and Haren, who have combined for 265 innings in 2010, Beckett is essentially just getting started. He has thrown only 51 1/3 innings.
"He's a guy that we need in the rotation for us to get where we want to be," said Bill Hall, whose solo homer in the seventh was the difference Friday night. "He's only going to get stronger from here. … He's rested, he feels great. A lot of guys have pitched a lot of innings right now and he has not. He's gonna be strong for the rest of the season and we're gonna need that from him."
Beckett joins Clay Buchholz among the Red Sox returnees this week. Their comebacks give Boston a healthy turn through the rotation for the first time since mid-May, when Beckett went on the disabled list.
Having a healthy rotation cannot be overlooked, especially when one considers the situations surrounding several of the Red Sox' chief competitors.
The front-running New York Yankees just lost Andy Pettitte for a lengthy spell with a groin injury, have endured inconsistent seasons from A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez and may have designs on moving Phil Hughes back to a beleaguered bullpen. Minnesota, Detroit and Los Angeles, three of those in pursuit of the wild card spot alongside Boston, have survived despite having rotations ranked in the bottom half of the AL in ERA.
The aforementioned Oswalt and Haren, as well as other lesser names such as Ted Lilly, Ben Sheets and Jeremy Guthrie, have been linked with a handful of AL contenders. But not Boston.
The Sox, who will likely seek help in other areas, can sit back and watch the bidding wars for marquee names take place, content that the rotation around which they built their team has welcomed back its leader.
"We're excited about it," said John Lackey, who flirted with a no-hitter in the opener of the Seattle series. "He's a front-end-of-the-rotation kind of guy."
The first game back figured to be a baby step for Beckett, but he wasted little time exhibiting some of the stuff that has made him so tough when healthy. He won a nine-pitch battle with Chone Figgins by striking him out with a darting cutter for the first out in the bottom of the first. Beckett then followed that up by blowing three straight mid-90s fastballs past Franklin Gutierrez.
There were two more strikeouts in the second and another to start the fourth, one of 4 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings to end the outing for Beckett.
Boston's Opening Night starter did not get credit for the win, remaining without a victory since April 10. But with the way he pitched and the way he feels, wins will come.
And with the rotation finally intact, they may come in bunches for Boston.
