Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Speaks on State of Rotation

The Boston Red Sox have decisions looming in the starting rotation.

With Garrett Whitlock expected to return from injury this weekend, the team will need to figure out what to do a current starter to make room.

The team could send youngster Brayan Bello down to Triple-A. While he has a high upside, he has minor league options remaining, so there's certainly a "path of least resistance" quality there.

The team could also DFA struggling righty Corey Kluber. He's got an ERA north of six in the early going and was knocked around for five runs over 2.1 innings on Sunday. If they don't want to DFA him, they could put him on the injured list to give him a chance to reset.

Or, the team could send Tanner Houck to the bullpen. After all, he's succeeded there before. But after Houck threw a dominant six innings on Monday against the Los Angeles Angels, Cora seemed to assure that his rotation spot is safe.

Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweeted the following out on Monday night:

Alex Cora on Tanner Houck's spot in the rotation:

"Right now he's one of our best starters. Forget the numbers. You look up (at his ERA) and you see a 5. Nah, that's not him."

(True. It's 4.99 now.)

Alex Cora onTanner Houck's spot in the rotation:

"Right now he's one of our best starters. Forget the numbers. You look up (at his ERA) and you see a 5. Nah, that's not him."

(True. It's 4.99 now.)
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) May 23, 2023

Thus, it seems like the most likely thing is to find a solution for Kluber. Bello offers too much upside to send down to the minors again.

Cora also recently spoke on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM about the development of James Paxton, who has looked great through two starts since coming back from injury.

You can hear his full comments below but here's a partial transcript:

"Velo surprises me, in a good way. We've been through this process many times through the last few years with Chris Sale.... With James, I was like 'OK, 93-94, but out of the shoot, 97....the stuff is really good."

"It puts us in a different situation than when we were coming into the season." #RedSox Manager @ac13alex has been thrilled with starter @James_Paxton since he's returned after missing nearly two years due to injury. @RedSox | #DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/T725IP0MPS
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) May 22, 2023

The Red Sox will take on the Angels on Tuesday at 9:38 p.m. ET. Bello will pitch for Boston.