The Red Sox rotation is a broken down mess that will ruin any chance the team has of being successful. A lot of people come to Chaim Blooms defense, saying that it is not his fault that Chris Sale got Tommy John Surgery and that Eduardo Rodriguez has had COVID-19 complications. While this is true, a Chief of Baseball Operations should prepare for these situations. Sale is notably one of the most injury prone pitchers over the last few seasons and it came as no surprise when he announced he needed Tommy John Surgery.
Injuries and health issues are apart of the game and his job is to provide the team with enough depth to go 162. Now, the team only has a 60 game sprint and our opening rotation features three openers. On February 9th, I wrote an article about how the Red Sox could round out the roster after the Mookie Betts + David Price trade. I still stand by this article:
Taijuan Walker was on this four player list, and just proved why he should have been a free agent target. In his second start back from Tommy John Surgery, Walker threw seven scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, walked two and struck out eight batters. At 27-years-old, Walker is on a mission to prove that he can once again pitch in the big leagues. Had he signed with the Red Sox, he could have signed a one-year prove it deal which would give Bloom the chance to extend him if he had success. Walker has a 3.96 career ERA with serious upside.
The Mariners were able to sign Taijuan Walker for just $2 Million with incentives up to $500,000. He has a good chance to revive his career and become a middle of the rotation option for a solid team. The Red Sox will instead trot out guys like Ryan Weber every fifth day, who has just about zero potential. Weber is not the type of guy that can dominate a lineup when he is feeling right. Walker can go on a run where he becomes absolutely unhittable. Losing out on Taijuan Walker was just another miss by the 2020 Red Sox Front Office. Even if Bloom planned on a bridge year, Walker still would have been a perfect fit.
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