Who Will Take Rodriguez's Spot in the Rotation?

(Photo Source: Al Bello/Getty Images North America)

By: Forrest Mulheron

It appears as thought he knee injury suffered by Eduardo Rodriguez while shagging fly balls during spring training camp in late February is not a major cause for concern. However, it's has all but been confirmed that Rodriguez will miss his first start of the year (if not the first few) and now the Red Sox must begin to think about his replacement.

A couple obvious choices stick out in fellow left-handers, Henry Owens and Brian Johnson. Both made their major league debuts in 2015 and showed potential on the mound, but neither looked as polished as Rodriguez who looked like he belonged in the majors from the beginning.

Brian Johnson's first MLB start of his career would also be the final start of his 2015 campaign, as it was announced that he began feeling some soreness in his left elbow shortly afterwards. Although an elbow injury is a pitcher's worst nightmare, Johnson did not require Tommy John surgery and has been throwing normally during spring training. It is hard to imagine Johnson getting the call to replace Rodriguez though, he has not pitched in a regular season game since July 21 against the Houston Astros.

Henry Owens by far got the bigger cup of tea last season, going 4-4 with a 4.57 ERA in 11 starts over 63 innings of work. He even looked dominating at times, holding the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals to one earned run over eight innings in a 7-1 Red Sox victory on Augusta 21.  The real glaring issues for Owens are his lack of velocity, but more importantly his control. He walks far too many batters (24 walks to 50 strikeouts in 2015) for a pitcher that lacks dominating speed and will need to correct that right off to have any MLB future ahead of him.

The choice that would make the most sense given the current circumstances would be one of the most underrated arms on the roster, knuckleballer Steven Wright. Wright went 5-4 with a 4.09 era in 16 games last season (9 starts) before being sidelined on August 11th with a concussion. He appears to be back to his usual self this spring, however, posting a 2.57 ERA over seven innings of work. One major benefit to Wright is his ability to both start and relieve, which would make for a seamless transition to the bullpen upon Rodriguez's return.

The most important thing to remember is that Rodriguez's injury is not serious and whatever solution the Red Sox find will only need to be a temporary one. It has been rumored that the Red Sox did not want Rodriguez throwing a full slate of 200+ innings this season regardless, so his may wind up as a blessing in disguise as E-Rod can now save those innings for the important games down the stretch.