Red Sox May Have Tipped Their Hand At Walker Buehler Replacement
The Boston Red Sox have a decision to make for the starting rotation.
Dustin May is getting the ball on Sunday night for Boston against the New York Yankees and then will have to decide who will get the ball on Monday night against the Baltimore Orioles. It would have been Walker Buehler, but the Red Sox moved him out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen.
Since then, there's been a lot of chatter about who could replace him with the two most talked about guys being Richard Fitts and Kyle Harrison. Fitts already is with the team. He was promoted and it was initially reported that he would be in the bullpen. But, it has been reported that he is at least in the mix to replace Buehler.
Who will get the ball to replace Walker Buehler?
Harrison was the biggest piece of the Rafael Devers trade for Boston. He's 24 years old and has a chance to be a long-term fixture in the Boston rotation, but he's been down in the minors working on some things with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. He has a 3.69 ERA in 10 starts with Worcester since the trade.
MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo shared that Harrison was scratched by Worcester on Sunday and is an option but also noted that Fitts remains an option as well.
"Red Sox still haven't committed to a starter for tomorrow. Kyle Harrison was scratched today in Worcester is on standby. But Richard Fitts remains an option," Cotillo said.
At this point, either would be interesting options. Boston fans know what Fitts can do. He was good for Boston to kick off the 2025 season and was solid last year in a small sample size. He had a 1.74 ERA in four appearances last year for Boston and has a 4.83 ERA so far this season in 10 starts for the Red Sox.
If Fitts gets into the action on Sunday night, then it would be obvious who the option would be on Monday. If he isn't used out of the bullpen, then everything is up in the air.
