Thursday, July 31

BOSTON – When the Red Sox gathered in Spring Training, manager Alex Cora felt the team had its best starting pitching depth in years.

First, there was the projected starting five of Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito. Then, there was a backup group to be excited about that included Kutter Crawford (last year’s team leader in innings), Hunter Dobbins (an emerging prospect), Richard Fitts (another reliable young arm) and Patrick Sandoval (coming off right UCL surgery).

A few months later, Houck is out indefinitely with a recurrence of a flexor strain injury, Crawford (right wrist) and Dobbins (right ACL tear) are out for the season and Sandoval is progressing slower than expected, casting a doubt on if he will throw a pitch this season.

With MLB’s Trade Deadline coming at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Boston’s most obvious need is some more starting pitching. 

“Yeah. I mean, obviously we’re one pitch away from somebody [else] getting hurt,” said Cora. “That's the nature of the business, right? So obviously, the more we have, the better. And compared to where we were in Spring Training, we're a lot shorter than that group.”

Getting a proven arm to slot behind ace Crochet could go a long way toward solidifying Boston’s chances to not only lock down a playoff spot, but advance should the club get there for the first time since 2021.

Within the clubhouse, helped by the leadership of players like Alex Bregman, Trevor Story and Crochet, the Red Sox have done a nice job of staying focused on each game and keeping the Trade Deadline on the backburner.

But it’s only human nature to be hoping for a boost. And you can be sure chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is pressing to bolster the rotation and also add another bat – preferably one who can play first base.

“I think the 30 teams will say yes,” said Cora. “You ask every player, every front office, every manager, they'll say, yes. But like I said, we have to be present. That's the most important thing. Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and that's when you don't play well and we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves.”

There are several intriguing starting pitchers who could be made available via trade, including Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Sandy Alcantara, Mitch Keller, Nick Martinez, Kris Bubic, Michael Lorenzen, Aaron Civale and Luis Severino.

“I think that in the clubhouse, we feel comfortable with what we've got, and being able to make it deep into the postseason,” said Crochet. “But additions would be welcomed as well. I think that right now, we're just in a position that lets us play as well as we can up to that point, but we're not going to stop there. Regardless of what we do at the Deadline. It's not going to change the mentality of the guys in the clubhouse.”

But another arm or two could give the Red Sox a proverbial shot in the arm as they gear up for the most important point of the season.

Prior to Friday’s game against the Dodgers, the Red Sox had three young men in home white uniforms sitting next to each other in the dugout doing a joint interview. 

Could it be a glimpse of what the Boston rotation could look like in the coming years?

The three college righties taken within Boston’s first four picks of the Draft earlier this month already seemed to be forming a bond. They are Kyson Witherspoon (No. 15 overall pick out of Oklahoma), Marcus Phillips (No. 33 from Tennessee) and Anthony Eyanson (No. 87 from LSU).

“I would say it feels like a warm hug walking on to this field,” said Eyanson. “It just feels super comforting. Me and Kyson were throwing on the field earlier. I can just see us in [future] years doing the same thing over, and over.”

The benefit of drafting three college pitchers from major programs is that it might not be long before they call Fenway home. How soon might that be?

“As fast as I can. That’s all I can say,” said Witherspoon.

After taking two out of three against the defending World Series champion Dodgers this weekend, the Red Sox will try to come through against another perennial contender next weekend when the Astros pay a visit to Fenway.

That will mark Bregman’s first time playing against the team he spent his entire career with before joining the Red Sox as a free agent in February.

Crochet, whose starts are becoming appointment viewing, should take the ball in the opener of the three-game set on Friday.

Tickets for all Red Sox home games are available here. 

Throughout the season, we are recalling memorable moments from the iconic season the Red Sox had 50 years ago. This week, we look at a doubleheader sweep of the rival Yankees in the Bronx … er, Queens.

Perhaps the most memorable day of that regular season took place on July 27 at Shea Stadium. With Yankee Stadium under renovations, the Bronx Bombers temporarily switched homes. 

The Red Sox made themselves at home by taking three out of four, including a doubleheader sweep in the Sunday finale. Everyone who followed that season remembers Game 1, a 1-0 shutout for Bill Lee which included Fred Lynn making perhaps the most memorable catch of his career in Boston, a sprawling grab that saved the win.

In Game 2, it was Roger Moret who went the distance for the shutout, riding a homer from Carl Yastrzemski and a 4-for-5 performance by Jim Rice for a 6-0 win to put the team at 60-40.

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