BOSTON — Interim Red Sox manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Saturday that the club was considering moving to a six-man rotation. But that plan seems to be getting more difficult thanks to some sidelined starters.
Lovullo proposed the idea as a way to give an extra day’s rest to Boston’s young arms — Eduardo Rodriguez already has surpassed his career innings record, and Henry Owens is 7 2/3 innings away — but they have limited options. Knuckleballer Steven Wright remains on the 7-day concussion list, while Matt Barnes is in Boston with elbow discomfort.
“We’re talking about that right now,” Lovullo said of the six-man rotation Wednesday ahead of the Red Sox’s game against the New York Yankees. “We’re trying to figure out if there is another candidate. We’re trying to see if (Barnes and Wright) can’t go, then maybe there’s a bullpen day. We’re throwing a lot of different options at one another, but obviously the two candidates are (Barnes) and Steven, and we’ll see where they’re at.”
Lovullo didn’t have an update on Barnes’ elbow, but he said Wright is still dealing with some balance issues. Other than that, the team will get an update at the end of the week.
“He’s still maintaining some baseball activity,” Lovullo said. “I know I said that that was coming close to where we could determine if he was through all those symptoms, but that has been extended to Friday. I’ll have more of an update on Friday.”
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
