The Boston Red Sox have spent the last two seasons stockpiling starting pitching depth, and this spring is proving why that was an important objective.
Since spring training opened roughly a month ago, the Red Sox learned that Kutter Crawford is certain to miss time with patellar tendon soreness and Brayan Bello will open the season on the injured list while ramping up from shoulder soreness. Then, on Tuesday, Lucas Giolito exited his spring training start early with hamstring tightness.
Crawford was projected to be the sixth starting pitcher on the depth chart, so the Red Sox didn’t necessarily need to find a replacement for him. But they definitely need at least one person to step up in the absence of Bello, and two if Giolito winds up missing time.
Throughout camp, the competition for the next spot on the depth chart has mainly been between 25-year-old Richard Fitts and 24-year-old Quinn Priester. Both were acquired in trades since Craig Breslow became chief baseball officer, and both made their Red Sox debuts in September.
Red Sox insider Ian Browne of MLB.com sees one of the two righties pulling ahead of the other. He recently predicted Fitts to win a spot in the rotation over Priester, assuming Giolito doesn’t suffer a setback and only one spot is open for the time being.
“Fitts is the favorite to fill in until Bello returns in early to mid-April,” Browne wrote in an Opening Day roster projection published Tuesday.
Both pitchers have fared relatively well in spring training so far, but it’s Fitts who has turned the most heads with his increased velocity and high strikeout total. He has nine punchouts and just one earned run allowed in 6 1/3 innings so far in camp.
For contrast, Priester has allowed two runs (both solo home runs) in 6 2/3 innings, but has allowed eight hits to six for Fitts while striking out just five batters.
The Red Sox hope to have Bello back quickly, so perhaps it will be just a limited stint for Fitts on the big-league roster even if he does win the spot. But as the Red Sox have seen, starting pitching injuries can crop up at any time, so Fitts could also find himself in a permanent rotation spot before long.
