Red Sox Taking Smart Risk With Payton Tolle Bullpen Decision

There are 10 games left in the Boston Red Sox's season, and it appears that barring injury, the starters are set for all 10 games.

Boston was guaranteed to start Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, and Garrett Crochet twice more each. With Connelly Early announced as the Sunday starter (and likely next Saturday as well), that left Kyle Harrison and Payton Tolle as the two young lefties vying for the final two opportunities.

On Wednesday, manager Alex Cora announced the verdict. Harrison will start Saturday and finish out the season in the rotation, while Tolle, who has struggled in his last two starts, will move to the bullpen.

Alex Cora explains Harrison/Tolle decision

"We decided it’s going to be Harrison, and there’s no more starts, so we’ll put him (Tolle) in the bullpen and see where it takes us,” said Cora, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “I think stuff-wise, he can do it. It’s just also making sure he’s healthy, he can bounce back and all that stuff.”

Tolle electrified the Fenway Park crowd in his major league debut three weeks ago, but in two road starts against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Athletics, he was hit hard. In five combined innings, he surrendered seven earned runs on four home runs and eight hits.

There's a risk that comes with trying any young pitcher in a new role for the first time. But Tolle has the potential to be a serious weapon out of the bullpen, while Harrison, who has 40 major league outings under his belt, is probably most qualified to handle these big-game starting opportunities.

The Red Sox should be aggressive about using Tolle, not just as a last resort, but a real weapon when there are pockets of lefties coming to the plate. In a one-inning scenario, his fastball will probably approach the 100-mph mark, and he won't need to worry as much about balancing his arsenal with multiple secondary offerings.

“You can be very aggressive every day with lefties knowing you’re going to have lefties (available) the next day,” said Cora, per Cotillo. “The ways the lineups are constructed now, you need lefties in the bullpen.”

Boston has a 2 1/2-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for the final playoff spot. Deploying Harrison and Tolle this way gives them the best chance at hanging on for dear life.

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