General manager Ben Cherington, manager Bobby Valentine and the Boston Red Sox have their next big task on their plate—replacing the injured Josh Beckett in the starting rotation.
Boston placed Beckett on the 15-day disabled list with an inflamed shoulder and has chosen reliever Franklin Morales to take his place tomorrow night, according Ian Browne of MLB.com.
It’s still unknown as to how long Beckett will be out for, but you can expect him to miss at least two starts.
Morales will start against the Chicago Cubs, but should Daniel Bard take any future starts that Beckett will end up missing?
Bard is currently pitching in Triple-A Pawtucket trying to find his feel for the pitching rubber.
He’s pitched in three games for the Paw Sox, getting roughed up in the opener and pitching better since. In four innings he’s allowed four earned runs on three hits, while walking two and striking out eight.
After transitioning into a starting pitcher during the offseason and spring training, Bard was about as bad as it gets in his first 11 starts. His June 3 start against the Toronto Blue Jays was the final straw, as he allowed five earned runs in 1.2 innings while walking six batters and hitting two.
Already in last place in the AL East, Boston can’t afford to give away any games. The team will need a starting pitcher to replace Beckett.
Franklin Morales cannot be the interim starter. He’s much too valuable coming out of the bullpen and the last thing they need is for him to get injured trying to go four innings.
I understand that they just found out about Beckett, which is why he’ll start tomorrow. But, that should be the only game that he starts.
That being said, Daniel Bard might be the best option that Boston has.
It actually would make a lot of sense.
If Bard comes back up to the majors and pitches well, great.
If not, then he goes back to the bullpen once Beckett is healthy. He gets around two more starts to prove that he can do it.
If he can’t, it was worth one last shot.
I know there’s a big risk of putting Bard back out there, but Boston has been losing games with the other four starting pitchers on the mound.
What’s the worst that happens?
There aren’t any other better options that Boston currently has.
They could go out and sign someone who just got released, but that doesn’t really solve anything. At least with Bard, there’s a shot at something positive for the future.
There’s no doubt that the Red Sox have their hands tied with this situation. But, it might be best if Daniel Bard’s final chance at starting comes while Beckett is on the DL.
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