FORT MYERS, Fla. -- In need of more options for their depleted starting rotation, the Red Sox signed free agent Collin McHugh to a one-year deal Thursday morning.
That's the good news.
The bad news? (Because these are the 2020 Red Sox and there is almost always some bad news, too...) McHugh is recovering from a flexor strain in his right arm and hasn't yet begun a throwing program.
So while he'll help give the Red Sox a boost, it likely won't be for a couple of months.
"They're evaluating him now,'' said interim manager Ron Roenicke. "So we don't know when that period will be when he starts up. He's coming off a flexor, so we're not sure when that period is when he can pitch for us.''
McHugh, 32, is 58-43 with a 3.95 career ERA over nine seasons, the last six of which were spent with the Houston Astros. Last year, he was 4-5 with a 4.70 ERA in eight starts before the flexor strain curtailed his season. The previous year, pitching exclusively out of the bullpen in 2018, he pitched to a 1.99 ERA in 58 relief appearances.
His best season was in 2015 when he was 19-7 with a 3.89 ERA. Of his 210 career appearances, McHugh has nearly split time evenly between the bullpen and the rotation, with 119 starts and 91 relief appearances.
"He can do both and he's willing to do both,'' said Roenicke, who met briefly with McHugh Thursday morning. "We'll get him ramped up, extend him out and then see where we are.''
McHugh will be paid $600,000 in base salary, and can earn another $3.625 million with various performance bonuses.
"He gave us everything he had for a number of years,'' said Astros pitching coach Brent Strom of McHugh. "He's a very intelligent young man who can really spin the ball really well, with an extremely great spin rate and good control of his breaking stuff. So I think he's going to be a big addition, however the Red Sox want to use him. He has a variety of different angles with his breaking ball and enough fastball to complement it.
"I don't know where he is with his elbow currently. But if he's healthy, he's a very good pitcher and he'll help that ballclub, I'm sure. I just pray for him that he's healthy. He's a very smart, well-spoken, thoughtful and a good teammate.''
McHugh's signing comes at a time when some of the newer candidates for the rotation -- Jeffrey Springs, Chris Mazza and others -- have been hit hard in Grapefruit League appearances. The team has openly contemplated utilizing an opener in one or more spots in the rotation, but would prefer someone with more of a track record in the big leagues to seize one of the available spots.
Ryan Weber has been one of the few internal candidates to pitch well this spring, but it's unclear -- given his lack of velocity and a career ERA of 5.04 -- whether he remains a viable starter for the entire season.
McHugh, at least, has that potential, to say nothing of the versatility to perform out of the bullpen, too.
But first, he needs to get healthy.
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