No Two Ways About It

If the Red Sox want to compete in the AL East next season they HAVE TO add at least one more reliable, major-league caliber pitcher. Collecting lottery tickets with assorted reclamation projects is okay for minor-league depth purposes, since the Sox don't exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to developing young pitchers (only 2 out of however many they've drafted in the last decade have become fixtures at the major league level). However, the way I see it, the front three are questionable enough as it is, with Lester probably the most reliable of the bunch. Beckett seems to pitch well only in odd-numbered years and Buchholz's back is no small concern. None of the three reached 200 innings last year. Buchholz didn't even reach 100.

For a team that desperately needs innings from starting pitchers, how does it make any sense to try to convert Bard into a starter? He wore out pitching 73 innings last year. Granted, he would be stretched out in Spring Training, I don't see how he can even approach 150 innings. The Great Daniel Bard Experiment would put undue pressure on Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz as well. The same thing goes for Aceves. He was far more effective as a reliever than he was as a starter.

All that said, the Red Sox need to stop playing cheap and add a starter like Oswalt or negotiate a trade for Garza. Oswalt has a balky back as well, but he's a better bet than the Padillas, Cooks, and Silvas they've been stockpiling. Kuroda would have been even better from an innings standpoint, but the Sox sat on their hands while the Yankees swooped in and signed him. If the Sox are relying on a converted reliever and a reclamation project to fill out the back of their rotation, it's 2011 all over again, only this time the might have to fight the Jays off for third place.