FORT MYERS, Fla. -- With the first four spots in the Red Sox' starting rotation spoken for -- in the persons of Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck and Michael Wacha -- the presumption has been that Rich Hill and Garrett Whitlock were battling it out for the No. 5 spot.
But perhaps not.
It now appears the two may combine their talents to fill nine innings every five days. One of the two would start, going four or five innings, with the other summoned from the bullpen to finish out the game.
In Grapefruit League play this spring, the two have frequently been lined up to pitch on the same day. At times -- as will be the case Friday when Hill faces Tampa Bay in Port Charlotte, while Whitlock pitches a minor league game at Fenway South -- they've competed in separate spots. At others, they've experimented with the tag team concept.
Manager Alex Cora seems like the contrast in styles, and the challenges that would present for opponents. It will require an adjustment for hitters to go from Whitlock -- who throws in the mid-90s and up -- to Hill, whose best pitch is a slow curveball that sometimes clocks in at under 70 mph.
"They complement each other great,'' observed Cora. "We'll be creative. We'll decide what to do but we can be very creative.''
Officially, Cora hasn't publicly shared his idea of using the two together. But Thursday morning, he broadly hinted at the unique arrangement.
" You guys will see what we do with him,'' said Cora when asked about Whitlock. "He's important, regardless of his role. You still have to pass the baton. The race starts when the gun goes off, but after that, you have to have a perfect relay and if you drop it, you're done. We will have a relay race and hopefully, we'll finish it. We like multiple innings. We know what we have to do with our starters.
"I'd rather have six innings from Garrett in a week than three. You make him a closer or a set-up guy, and you have three chances to win during the week and it's only three innings. We have to create that balance. Stuff-wise, he can go five innings. It's just (a matter of) when -- is it from the fourth through the ninth or from the first to the fifth. We still have decisions to make.
The idea could help preserve the health of both pitchers. Hill will be the game's oldest pitcher in 2022, while Whitlock, having undergone Tommy John surgery in 2019 and missed all of 2020, threw just 73.1 innings as a rookie last season.
"If we have to slow him down, we will,'' Cora said of Whitlock. "One thing's for sure -- more than 70 innings is what we're shooting for.''
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There are new fewer than five regulars -- Nathan Eovaldi, Christian Vazquez, Xander Bogaerts, Kike Hernandez and J.D. Martinez -- who are either eligible for free agency or potentially eligible once the 2022 regular season concludes, and to date, none has been signed to a contract extension.
But Cora said he's heard and seen nothing to suggest that the uncertainty has created any distractions for his club.
"Honestly, I think '19 taught my a lot in that (department),'' Cora said. "There was a lot of talk right away (about Chris Sale and Bogaerts, both of whom would have deals in place soon) in the cage, everywhere. I was like, 'Whoa, this is different.' I learned a lot, and it's something I feel that I can control in the clubhouse. We can stay locked in what we're trying to accomplish (while realizing) that there's a business side to it. There's some guys we'd love to have stay here and there's other guys that, hey, they're going to be free agents and they're going to cash in.
"But as far as me personally, I learned a lot in '19 and I think more prepared to deal with stuff like that now. We're locked in. You can see it as far as the drills and the way we're playing. There's not much talk about contracts, there's not much talk about free agency. Yeah, there's talk about contract extension, but that's easy to talk about. That's part of the business. But so far, everybody's in a good frame of mind. Everybody understands that we fell short of what we wanted to do last year and it's been one of the best camp I've been around in terms of the way they work, the efficiency, taking care of players and the product on the field.''
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Cora made an interesting pronouncement about first base, noting that behind starter Bobby Dalbec, "as of right now, Christian (Vazquez) is our backup first baseman. As of right now.''
"As far as footwork and baseball IQ, he's one of our best infielders,'' said Cora of Vazquez. "It just happens that he's a catcher. I know he played a little bit of first base in winter ball. I have no hesitation -- if we have to play him at first base, he'll be OK.''
That may, however, be a reflection of the fact that Travis Shaw, in camp on a minor league deal, is not a part of the 40-man roster,
Shaw has struggled mightily in limited playing time, going 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts before chipping in with two hits in Thursday's 4-3 win over Minnesota. But as Cora noted, a dozen of those at-bats have come against lefties, which he wouldn't be facing during the regular season.
"He can put an at-bat together,'' said Cora of Shaw.
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Chris Sale (right rib cage stress fracture) was set to undergo an MRI Thursday, which could result in him getting cleared to throw again...Josh Taylor (lower back) has been ruled out for Opening Day...The Sox got solo homers from Rafael Devers (No. 5) and Bobby Dalbec (No. 3)...Hansel Robles arrived after a visa delay and will throw a bullpen Friday. "He looks great,'' said Cora. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's ready to get into a game, but we have to be smart.''