McAdam: Rotation injuries will challenge Red Sox

Just as the Red Sox appeared to be reaching the break-even point -- their 4-1 loss to the Orioles Monday night precluded them from getting to the .500 mark for the first time since the season was two games old -- they were hit with some injury news.

David Price, battling elbow tendinitis, was placed on the 10-day Injured List, retroactive to May 3, Price joins fellow starter Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) on the IL, meaning 40 percent of the Red Sox starting rotation is out before the team gets one-quarter of the way through the schedule.

If you're tracking money, that's $49 million worth of Grade A starting pitching on the shelf.

Forget, for a moment, Price's insistence that this is minor setback, one that barely concerns him. Or that manager Alex Cora echoed that nonchalance, noting that had this taken place in September, Price would have continued to pitch.

Their reactions may provide some comfort to the fan base, but still, losing two of your five starters is never a good thing, especially when your team is built around the starting rotation.



As Josh Smith demonstrated Monday night at Camden Yards, you can't put just anybody on the mound and expect an automatic win -- even when the opponent went into the game tied for the worst record in the league. Smith couldn't get out of the fourth inning.

We'll soon see if the Red Sox' starting pitching depth is as thin as it appears. Already, the team is without Steven Wright (80-game PED suspension) and Brian Johnson (elbow). That leaves the likes of Hector Velazquez (Tuesday's scheduled starter) and Smith.

The Sox didn't add much to that depth over the winter, with the explanation that because they already had five established starters in place, backend free agents weren't interested in signing with them, fearing that they'd be stuck in Triple-A all year.

Six weeks into the season has shown that things aren't always as they seem.

The organization's best starting pitching prospects don't seem ready to yet help out. Jay Groome, the team's top-ranked pitcher, is out until later this year, recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Next in line is lefty Darwinzon Hernandez, who was impressive in a one-game relief stint last month. Hernandez possesses elite stuff, but command often escapes him -- as is hardly unusual for 22-year-olds. While Hernandez is averaging 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings at Double-A Portland, he's also averaging 7.2 walks per nine innings. If he can't regularly throw strikes to hitters in the Eastern League, it's doubtful he can do in the big leagues. Clearly, more seasoning is needed, and the same goes for Tanner Houck, the team's first-round pick in 2017, also learning his craft with the Sea Dogs.

A season ago, the Red Sox had their occasional challenges where their rotation was concerned. Chris Sale missed most of the final two months but by then, the Red Sox were firmly in command of the division. Eduardo Rodriguez missed six weeks, but not long after he went down, the Sox obtained Eovaldi to fill the void. And both Price and Rick Porcello each made 30 starts.

This year, the injuries are hitting sooner. Eovaldi had already missed a couple of weeks with another two or weeks still needed.

In another sense, however, the timing couldn't be better for the Red Sox. Currently in the middle of a stretch that has seen them play 20 games in 20 days, the Sox will get their first scheduled day off Thursday. They'll get another day off Monday following a weekend series with Seattle and yet another day off on Thursday, May 16th. That's a total of three days off in the span of eight.

That light load will enable Cora and pitching coach Dana LeVangie to move some pieces around. After Velazquez pitches the second game of the series in Baltimore Tuesday night, the Sox could ride their big three of Sale, Porcello and Rodriguez for the next week and a half, by which time Price should be ready to return.

For the time being, then, this seems like an inconvenience more than a full-blown crisis. Certainly, other teams in the American League have had to deal with more significant losses.

The Yankees have yet to get a pitch thrown by ace Luis Severino, who isn't expected back until after the All-Star break. Newly acquired James Paxton will miss three weeks with a knee injury.

In Cleveland, the Indians recently lost two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to a broken arm and Mike Clevinger is weeks away from returning from the IL.

It could be worse, in other words. But if Monday night was any indication of the depth the Red Sox have on hand, the Red Sox don't want to find out how much worse.