Red Sox Would Be Wise to Keep Felix Doubront in Starting Role in 2011

Felix Doubront presents to the Red Sox what one might call a "good problem." Not only is he young and talented, and not only does he have a good head on his shoulders, but he has already given the team two quality choices.

Either Doubront returns to the minors to continue his development as a starting pitcher or he heads north from Fort Myers with the Red Sox next spring as one of the key components to their bullpen. Both scenarios have merit but in the interest of generating debate we ask: Where will Felix Doubront begin the 2011 season, and will he be starting or relieving?

To start, we know Doubront can do both. He may never be a Cy Young Award winner or the Fireman of the Year but he has a quality makeup that should allow him to be successful in either role. So, the question really has more to do with what is best for Boston going forward.

In his last two seasons as a minor league starter, Doubront went 16-9 with a 3.17 ERA between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket, facing older and more polished hitters than most of his fellow 23-year-olds and dominating many of them. He may not have been on the fast track, but he was definitely gaining steam toward gaining a full-time gig in the majors.

The fact that Doubront was competent in three major league starts suggests he would eventually be able to make the leap for good. Whether that permanent leap is made as a starter or reliever remains to be seen but the Sox would be wise to consider why they used Doubront out of the bullpen in the first place.

It’s rare when an already highly regarded starter has his best results at the highest levels of the minors and then is quickly transformed into a reliever. Realistically, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. The Red Sox made such a move with Doubront last year for one specific reason — they were desperate. Boston had just about run out of options in front of Jonathan Papelbon and Daniel Bard in the bullpen and failed to find any assistance at the non-waiver trade deadline.

Doubront was their best pitcher at the minor league level at the time and one of the few viable options to get some big outs in August and September. When he performed well, Boston came out of the situation looking OK, but it was a risk.

So, too, is keeping Doubront in such a role.

Jobs in the bullpen are fickle and rarely have great long-term value, either within the organization or outside of it as trade bait. Sure, Boston's starting rotation is rather set right now and its bullpen is a work in progress, but Doubront’s value plummets severely if he is told to abandon dreams of going seven strong in front of a sellout crowd at Fenway Park. Instantly, as a reliever, he is lumped into a group filled with cheap journeymen. If there is a need to make a trade either this winter or at some point during the 2011 season, dangling a young left-handed starter with a proven track record at the minor league level ought to attract more potential trade partners than a young left-handed reliever relatively new to the role and working without "closer’s stuff."

Additionally, several of those cheap journeymen are among a loaded list of available free-agent relievers, another reason why the Sox should keep Doubront on his original path. Even if they are desperate once again to fix the bullpen, they should have some other options they can turn to without having to disrupt the progress of one of the system’s best young starters.

Doubront could be a very nice addition to the Sox' pen in 2011. However, the organization would be doing itself a service by resisting the urge to use him in that fashion and letting the lefty turn his potential as a starter into something more valuable down the road.

Each day of November, NESN.com will explore a different issue facing the Red Sox this offseason.

Sunday, Nov. 28: How much does Mike Cameron have left in the tank?

Tuesday, Nov. 30: Will the Red Sox return to the postseason in 2011?