McAdam: Increased expectations mean Garrett Richards will need to figure things out soon

Had Garrett Richards struggled as a member of the Red Sox 2020 rotation, he would barely have had to look over his shoulder. The Red Sox were so bereft of major league quality pitching options that, time and again, pitchers were given additional chances. Simply put, there weren't any better alternatives -- and the record reflected that.

It's a measure of how much Chaim Bloom has improved the overall pitching depth in the organization that that is no longer the case. That, one supposes, is the good news for Bloom.

The bad news? His biggest free-agent acquisition -- at least as measured by 2021 salaries -- was Richards, whom he signed to a one-year $10 million deal with a club option for 2022. And through four starts, to call Richards a mixed bag so far would be generous. In his first one, Richards was blasted for six runs and couldn't get an out in the third inning.

His next two were better. He allowed two runs over five innings to a bad Orioles team, then overcame some bad luck and bad defense to limit the Twins to two unearned runs in five innings in last week's road trip finale.

Thursday night, however, there was no equivocating. Richards was brutally wild and completely ineffective. It's somehow miraculous, given the amount of traffic he allowed, that he lugged the Red Sox into the fifth inning, still somehow in the game.

Still, there was no getting around the ugly numbers: six walks in 4.2 innings, plus a hit batsman, plus a wild pitch. Before the game, Alex Cora conceded the Red Sox wanted Richards' slider to be better. It wasn't, of course, but even more troubling was his inability to command his fastball. His four-seamer was all over the place, though Cora attributed some of that wildness to be a function of the natural run that Richards has to his fastball.

But that seemed a polite assessment. Too often, Richards had no feel for most of his pitches, which was confirmed by the fact that of the 94 pitches he threw, just 48 -- a tick over half -- were in the strike zone.



"I was just kind of fighting my delivery the whole night,'' said Richards. "My release point, the elements... kind of the combination of a lot of stuff. I tried to get some outs. I didn't really have a whole lot going tonight. Obviously, not good. I'll just be doing some work in between, before the next start, getting some release point stuff and delivery stuff reassured. (I'll be) continuing to grind, continuing to try to get better.''

Some allowances have to be made here. This year is the first season in about five years in which he's begun the year fully healthy. He delayed getting Tommy John surgery by opting for PRP injections, a move that backfired and cost him additional time. It's understandable Richards would be experiencing some mechanical/delivery issues -- he hasn't been on the mound regularly enough to know or trust his own body.

There's no denying the stuff -- when he can command it. The fastball does have natural run to it, but that's of little value when he can't keep it anywhere near the strike zone and hitters can routinely lay off it. There's also the issue of him throwing both a curve and slider, with Richards conceding that by attempting to throw two breaking balls, he may inadvertently be compromising both.

Richards seems determined that he'll find a remedy for his mechanical glitches.

"It's not something that I'm super concerned with,'' he said. "Obviously, I want to get better and pitch better. It's a constant grind -- throughout the year, you're going to have good stretches, bad stretches, times when you need to change things. I just think the delivery was off tonight; I was kind of fighting it the whole night and then obviously, I couldn't get my release point under control.

"It's kind of a combination of things, nothing that can't be fixed.''

Again, Richards is healthy, which shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. And the quality of his stuff, when he can command it better, can't be denied.

But this isn't 2020, either. There are expectations this year, an increased sense of urgency. That doesn't mean the Red Sox are going to cut bait with Richards after four starts -- not with $10 million guaranteed to him. Richards together with pitching coach Dave Bush should be able to diagnose the problem and make the necessary adjustments.

But if this goes on much longer, the Red Sox aren't about to be complacent, either. This season, they have alternatives. There's Tanner Houck at Worcester, and Matt Andriese and maybe even Garrett Whitlock in the bullpen.

The 2020 season, in which the Sox deployed openers, seemed often uncertain who would start the next game, and often handed the ball to pitchers who frankly weren't of major league caliber, is history.

That's a good thing. It's a measure of how expectations have changed within the organization.

Garrett Richards will get some time to fix things. But he won't be given the ball forever if he pitches like he did Wednesday night.

This is 2021, and things have changed.