Why These Improvements Have Red Sox Rotation Ready For Battle

The Boston Red Sox went out and prioritized talent and depth this offseason.

Additions came with Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler. Patrick Sandoval will eventually factor in after his Tommy John recovery, while Justin Wilson and Aroldis Chapman bolstered the bullpen.

The Red Sox already have to rely on rotation depth with Lucas Giolito, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello starting the season on the injured list. Depth arms such as Richard Fitts, Sean Newcomb, Quinn Priester and Hunter Dobbins should all factor into the equation for the Red Sox.

NESN analyst and former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon knows how important that depth will be in a potentially special season for the Red Sox.

“You finally have depth,” Papelbon told NESN.com. “You finally have what this team has been lacking for the last three years, in my opinion, in starting depth. You can never, ever have enough of that because there’s going to be injuries. Guys will go down throughout the season. There’s no question about that.”

Papelbon added that the sheer number of arms and allotted depth should create valuable in-house competition among the staff for the Red Sox. Arms like Crawford, Newcomb, Cooper Criswell and other depth options will have to earn their spots with continued talent.

“You have competition among the starting rotation,” Papelbon added. “Any time that a big-league team has competition amongst the starters in the rotation, then it’s going to be good. You’ve always got somebody pushing somebody else.”

Having a top-of-the-rotation arm in Crochet marks a “refreshing” shift in approach for Papelbon with an attacking mentality to lead the staff for the Red Sox.

“The No. 1 thing that fires me up is we’re talking about in the zone, throwing strikes and not walking people,” Papelbon said. “That style of pitching will never fade. That style will never go away. That’s the style that I pitched with. That’s the style I prefer to watch. It keeps your defense in the game.”

As for the bullpen, the Red Sox have capable leverage arms, though Papelbon recognizes the personnel of that core could shuffle during the season.

“If you can have four go-to guys throughout the season, I think that your bullpen will be good,” Papelbon said. “I like the dynamic of it. I like the way they’re set up. I think Slaten has to come in and have a good year too. They gotta stay healthy. … If you have guys go down in the bullpen this year, you don’t have reinforcements. Breslow is going to have to continue to look at the bullpen all year long and probably make some more additions as the season goes on. If I was in his shoes, that’s what I would do.”