The Boston Red Sox pitching rotation was a disaster in the latter part of the 2022 season. During the second half of the season, Boston starters registered a major league-worst 4.97 ERA. On top of that, this rotation has more questions than answers heading into this season. Given how injured Chris Sale has been, Boston needs an ace. I believe the Red Sox should pursue a trade for Milwaukee Brewers star pitcher Corbin Burnes.
Trouble In Milwaukee
After losing in arbitration, it’s safe to say that the Brewers have severely damaged their relationship with Burnes. During the case, they went as far as to put all the blame on him for them missing the postseason. Keep in mind this is the same team that has had problems on offense the past few years. While not as dominant as his Cy Young award-winning season, Burnes gave Brewer fans and all of baseball a nice encore. Burnes went 12-8 with an ERA of 2.94 and led the league in strikeouts with 249. He was also selected for his second consecutive all-star game.
The Brewers play in baseball’s smallest market. Burnes’s rising salary plus his accomplishments makes it very difficult to retain him. Burnes also has two more seasons of team control left before he becomes eligible for free agency. Boston has a clear need for a proven ace; it would be silly to think that Chris Sale can go back to his old self.
A Rocky Three Seasons
Chaim Bloom has been having a rough time as the Chief Baseball Officer of the Red Sox. Bloom has made mistakes in free agency, making trades, and right now seems to be prospect-hugging. Since he’s replaced Dave Dombrowski, Bloom has refused to give up any top prospects for proven talent. Bloom should know that no matter how highly rated these players are, he can’t expect all of them to become all-stars.
In fact, the Red Sox don’t have a lot of pitchers coming up in their minor league system. However, the system is top-heavy with hitters. In fact, this is what the Milwaukee Brewers are most likely going to be interested in when making a deal. The Sox have the prospects to get this deal done and the 40-man roster isn’t big enough for them all.
A Weak Rotation
Since Bloom was hired, the Red Sox starting rotation has been one of the worst in baseball. Their current ace, Chris Sale has been consistently unhealthy; he has only pitched in 11 games in the past two seasons. The other veteran pitcher, James Paxton has only pitched in six games in the past three seasons. Paxton also missed all last year recovering from a procedure. This forced their younger pitchers to take on bigger rotation roles. Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, and Josh Winckowski all had a rough first season in the starting rotation.
An Opportunity To Make A Splash
If Burnes makes it through the 2023 offseason, Chaim Bloom needs to pounce on this opportunity. The Boston Red Sox badly need a successful “splash move.” The big moves he’s tried to make are looking like failures. The pitching staff has been neglected by Bloom and it shows in the statistics. Bloom needs to realize that Chris Sale’s days as an ace pitcher are behind him. Bloom has always talked about setting the franchise up for the long term. If he were to acquire Burnes, he would be doing just that.
For more on baseball, check out Belly Up Sports and follow Eric on Twitter.
