Thanks to guaranteed contracts and other mitigating factors (including options), wholesale changes are difficult for Major League Baseball teams to make in-season.
But that didn't stop the slumping Red Sox from making one Friday, with the potential for at least two more to come in the next week or so.
Before the Red Sox began their four-game weekend series with another one-sided loss in Toronto, Alex Cora revealed that Martin Perez, who failed to get past the fourth inning for the fourth time in his last five starts Thursday in Detroit, was being shifted to the bullpen.
It's a move that might be overdue, giving the lack of length that Perez was offering, to say nothing of his actual performance (4.77 ERA, 1.520 WHIP). As managers tend to do in these circumstances, Cora tried to frame this in a positive light, noting that Perez could be helpful contributing in relief, especially with the Sox suddenly down a lefty bullpen option in the wake of Darwinzon Hernandez's oblique injury.
He further added that Perez could be helpful coming into games, especially with the arrival of lefties Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo to the Yankees lineup.
But that was mere spin on Cora's part. Perez was taken out of the rotation because he was regularly failing to give the Red Sox a chance to win his starts. It's no more complicated than that. Over his last five starts, he had totaled 19 innings and compiled an 8.53 ERA.
Perez's reassignment means his spot in the rotation will be taken by Tanner Houck. Houck is set to pitch the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, but with the team enjoying an off-day in the schedule Monday, Houck can take Perez's next turn on either Wednesday or Thursday when the Sox return to Fenway for a homestand.
That's one change. Next, barring something unforeseen, will come a similar shift for Garrett Richards. Richards is set to pitch the series finale Sunday in Toronto, if only because the Sox don't currently have an available alternative. But that's about to change, too.
Chris Sale will make what will almost certainly be his final rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Worcester. That would put him in line to take over Richards' next turn (which, again thanks to the off-day, will come next Saturday).
Perez accepted his re-assignment to the bullpen. How Richards handles the demotion is less clear, given that he recently pushed back hard on the suggestion that his spot in the rotation might be in jeopardy. The Sox could either send him to the bullpen and hope for some contributions there, or DFA him and eat the remaining $3 million or so owed to him.
Richards has extensive bullpen experience, having been reassigned there late last season by the Padres. But with no guaranteed deal for 2022 -- the Sox hold a team option -- he might prefer to be either dealt or waived so he has a chance to finish strong elsewhere and prepare for this winter's free-agent market.
What's pretty clear, however, is with Houck and Sale now options, Richards isn't part of Boston's rotation plans.
So that's the pitching side of the pending changes. How about the rest of the roster?
It would seem that Bobby Dalbec's days on the major league roster are likely numbered, too.
For the start of the big series in Toronto, Franchy Cordero was in the lineup. Cordero hasn't produced much of late, but he's at least showing a little more discipline and making more regular contact.
The latter can't be said of Dalbec, who, better than two-thirds of the way through the season, has walked 14 times in 287 at-bats. Fourteen.
Fourteen.
If Dalbec were a pitcher, his 117-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio would make him unstoppable on the mound. Unfortunately, he's a hitter and his inability to control the strike zone has resulted in him becoming an almost automatic out. His .258 on-base percentage is the lowest of any regular in the American League.
Until Kyle Schwarber completes a rehab assignment, Dalbec's roster spot is probably safe. But that doesn't mean he's going to get much playing time. Cordero is ahead of him, and so probably is Marwin Gonzalez, who, while not much of an offensive threat, is superior defensively.
It wouldn't be terribly surprising to see Kevin Plawecki (10 major league appearances at first) get some time here and there at the position.
It's too soon for the Sox to give up altogether on Dalbec, who does possess enormous power when he makes contact. Even a modest uptick in swing decisions could make him, at the least, a viable platoon piece.
But the sprint is on, and the Sox can't afford to settle for subpar production up and down their roster.
One underperformer is gone. In all probability, another one will soon be going. And a third is very much in jeopardy.