Red Sox Could Add Ex-Cubs World Series Champion To Address Huge Issue

Boston's pitching health is quietly becoming an enormous problem

Apr 26, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A Chicago Cubs hat and glove sits in the dugout during a game with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-Imagn Images | David Kohl-Imagn Images

There’s been a lot of chatter about the Boston Red Sox’s failure to hit, but their real problem is starting pitching depth.

Sure, Boston isn’t exactly mashing to open up the season, but let’s face it: proven Major League-level hitters on the Red Sox like Jarren Duran and Triston Casas will turn things around at the plate in due time. Slow starts happen.

What’s far more concerning for Boston is the fact that four of its starting pitchers are currently on the Injured List. Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Lucas Giolito began the season on the IL, and now Richard Fitts has joined them after tweaking his right shoulder on Saturday versus the Chicago White Sox.

With all the injuries, Fitts has been Boston’s second-best starter behind Garrett Crochet to start 2025, making Fitts’ trip to the IL not a small deal for the Red Sox.

Crochet, Walker Buehler, and Tanner Houck are the only members of Boston’s planned rotation healthy at the moment, and Houck hasn’t pitched well.

Are the Red Sox facing a starting pitching crisis?

Bello, Crawford, Gioloto, and Fitts are all expected to return soon, but how effective will these guys be? Surely, some or all of them will need time to shake rust off.

All of the above has to have Red Sox exec Craig Breslow contemplating an addition to the staff via trade, but it remains unknown how much salary Breslow would be willing to take on in such a scenario.

Based on the massive moves that Boston made this past offseason, it doesn’t seem like acquiring a highly-paid starter like Miami Marlins’ Sandy Alcántara would be palatable for Breslow.

Breslow is more likely to pursue cheaper, veteran options on the trade market who can provide a handful (or more) of professional starts in the event of further injuries to the staff.

As such, one guy Breslow might be interested in is 35-year-old Kyle Hendricks of the Los Angeles Angels. Last week, Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller linked Hendricks to his former team the Chicago Cubs, who are also in need of starters at the moment.

“Hendricks (is) out to a pretty impressive start to the Angels chapter of his career,” Miller wrote.

The former World Series champion and 2016 Major League Baseball ERA leader Hendricks has accrued a 4.20 ERA and nine strikeouts through three starts (15 innings) for the Angels. Those aren’t dominant numbers by any stretch, but the Red Sox don’t need dominant right now; they just need health and experience.

Furthermore, Hendricks’s $2.5 million salary would be a drop in the ocean that is Boston’s payroll.

Keep an eye on Hendricks once Boston’s search for additional pitching ramps up.

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