McAdam: Five Red Sox thoughts in the middle of a bad week

As the Red Sox fight to -- gulp -- stay above the .500 mark, here are five thoughts on a variety of issues:

1- Mike Shawaryn has been intriguing

Over the last few weeks, the Red Sox have taken a look at a handful of pitchers from their minor league system, giving starts to the likes of Josh Smith, Ryan Weber and Darwinzon Hernandez. Some are journeyman, some are prospects, but they all have one thing in common: they all got hit around.

There's one exception as the Sox churn through arms: Mike Shawaryn. Shawaryn has appeared in three games, allowed one run over six innings and struck out 11 without allowing a walk. His only hit allowed was a solo homer.

He's been used exclusively out of the bullpen here, and there's a reason for that.



"We like him as a reliever,'' said Alex Cora. "Dana (LeVangie) likes what he's doing out of the bullpen. When he didn't pitch all those days (from his call-up in New York until his major league debut last Friday), we made an adjustment - where he was on the rubber and a few things he identified in spring training. We fine-tuned a few things and he's been outstanding for us. We like where he is right now. It's still just three outings, but so far, so good.

"He's been aggressive. That's something he didn't do in his last two outings (in Pawtucket) where he was all over the place, but he's been around the plate since he got here. We feel the stuff has been sharper out of the bullpen - he's been aggressive in short stints and not holding back.''

2-Wright's return bears watching.

Steven Wright made another appearance at Pawtucket Wednesday as he continues to way back from a spring PED suspension. Wright isn't eligible to come back until June 25, but he's been cleared to take part in the minor leagues to get ready.

Wright has been used out of the bullpen for Pawtucket, a role he would assume back in Boston. And from a pitching standpoint, he'd be a welcome addition to a staff that has been in search of reinforcements all season.

There are two issues. One is Wright's knee, on which he has essentially the same procedure performed on Dustin Pedroia. Cora reports there have been no issues to date as Wright pitches in the minor.

The other is trickier. Wright's suspension angered some teammates, including two -- Chris Sale and Rick Porcello -- who have been outspoken against PED use. Both said Wright owed the team some explanation for what happened.

Cora revealed Wednesday that, a few days after news of his suspension broke, Wright addressed the team in spring training. Nothing is known about how that talk was received.

But it's worth noting that Wright's name has essentially not been mentioned in the clubhouse since the season began and, reading his demeanor and body language on the topic. it doesn't seem that Cora is counting the days to Wright's return.

3-Marco Hernandez offers some options.

It's early yet, but Marco Hernandez, healthy for the first time in two years, has been impressive in his first week back. He's had strong at-bats, driven the ball for extra-bases at times and handled second base without any issues.

Hernandez was highly regarded, mostly for his bat, when he was last healthy. Who knows what to expect now. Two years is a lot of lost time.

Best case scenario: he evolves into the team's regular second baseman going forward, providing suitable defense and some pop at the plate.

More likely scenario: he's a valuable piece off the bench, capable of play a few infield positions and offering a sturdy lefty bat for pinch-hitting.

The only negative here is that there's some redundancy with Brock Holt, as both are lefthanded utility players (though Holt is significantly more versatile). In a perfect world, Hernandez would hit righthanded and offer a true roster complement.

Then again, with Holt hurtling toward free agency this fall, Hernandez could have the utility role all to himself in the future.

4-Dombrowski fails on depth perception.

In the big picture, it's hard to take issue with the job done by Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. In his first three full seasons on the job, the Red Sox have won the A.L. East three times and last year, won the pennant and World Series while setting a franchise record for most wins in a season.

He's made some good trades (Chris Sale; Craig Kimbrel), signed some impactful free agents (David Price; J.D. Martinez) and made some shrewd in-season acquisitions (Steve Pearce, among others).

But an area in which Dombrowski has not done nearly as well is assembling some of the smaller pieces around the roster and within the organization.

While the Red Sox watched as Smith, Weber and the not-yet-ready Hernandez take their lumps in spot starts, it's impossible that there weren't upgrades in starting pitching that could have been added in the offseason.

Dombrowski's stance is that minor league free agents and other fringe starters with big league experience don't want to sign with a team which has its rotation set, as the Red Sox did over the winter -- they'd rather go to another organization, where they'll get a better chance of getting back to the big leagues.

And yet, other big-market contenders (Yankees, Dodgers) seem to figure out a way around that issue.

5-The ninth inning hasn't been quite as bad as it looks for the Red Sox bullpen.

The team's ninth-inning ERA heading into Wednesday was a gaudy 5.88, with 36 runs allowed in 52 innings.

But a closer look reveals that fully 10 of those runs were surrendered by Tyler Thornburg in mop-up roles in games in which the Sox were either up or down by big margins. And another four were charged to Josh Taylor, who had been optioned back to Pawtucket.

Which isn't to suggest that the bullpen doesn't need upgrades. But when you limit your scope to the high-leverage guys whom the Sox trust in close games, the inning hasn't been quite that bad.