Best Option For Filling Tanner Houck’s Spot In Red Sox In Rotation

Would you be surprised to hear that the Boston Red Sox have found themselves looking for a rotation arm to replace an injured starting pitcher?

If you answered no, that likely means that you've watched this team for any amount of time over the past two seasons.

The Red Sox have dealt with a plethora of injuries to their staff since the start of 2022, with Chris Sale, Garrett Whitlock, Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill, Michael Wacha, James Paxton and Brayan Bello all spending considerable time on the injured list while members of Boston's rotation.

The next in line? Tanner Houck.

Houck was placed on the 15-day IL on Sunday after being hit in the face with a line drive Friday night against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. The 26-year-old suffered a facial fracture, which is expected to have him on the shelf for at least a few weeks. In the meantime, the Red Sox have to find an arm to fill those innings while they wait for Houck to heal up.

Or do they?

The obvious option in replacing an injured starter is finding a one-for-one swap, with someone graduating to the rotation from either the bullpen or Triple-A to take on the new role. Boston doesn't need to take the common approach, however, and they showed why in their first crack at filling Houck's innings.

The Red Sox elected to go with an opener in the first game of their doubleheader against the Yankees on Sunday, allowing Kaleb Ort to get things started. He was just fine, allowing two runs in 2 1/3 innings pitched before giving way to Chris Murphy and Nick Pivetta. Those two men, who recently made the move to the bullpen, shut New York down the rest of the way (along with Chris Martin, who recorded the final three outs) and sparked a two-game sweep in the doubleheader.

The dominance of both Pivetta and Murphy in that role is exactly why they, who are considered the two best options to join the Red Sox's staff, should be kept far away from the rotation.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said himself that Pivetta is a "different pitcher" when he is in the bullpen. The veteran allows himself to air things out and has much better stuff from the 'pen. Murphy has also turned a corner since making the move to the pen, tossing six scoreless innings to open up his big league career.

That's why the Red Sox should keep those guys in the 'pen, opting to stack them with an opener every fifth day. Corey Kluber is an option, while Josh Winckowski and Kaleb Ort have each done the job in the past.

Boston has James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford in line to start against the Minnesota Twins, a series that kicks off Monday night at 7:40p.m. ET on NESN, with Houck's turn in the rotation coming up on Thursday. At that point, we will know which road the Red Sox decided to travel down.