Who is the Stopper?

Now that Jon Lester and John Lackey are gone, the question arises- who is the Red Sox stopper? The answer is easy- they don’t have one.

At the beginning of this season, the rotation consisted of Lackey, Lester, Jake Peavy, Felix Doubront and Clay Buchholz. Combined, these five hurlers had chalked up 482 major league wins. At present, the starters are Buchholz, Allen Webster, Joe Kelly, Rubby De La Rosa, and Brandon Workman. These men have a total of 95 victories. Take away Bucky’s 58 and the total drops to 37.

Some wrote that with the top guys traded, Buchholz would step up. The first outing was discouraging, to put it mildly. Staked to leads of 3-0 and 5-3 against the Yankees, he came up with another putrid performance, reached for 8 hits and 7 earned runs with 5 walks in 5 innings. The loss went to Craig Breslow, but that matters little. His 6.20 ERA is one of the worst in the majors among regular starters.

There will be lots of competition for the stopper’s job for the rest of the year. Kelly is a possibility, but injuries have slowed his progress. Workman, De La Rosa and Webster have shown only flashes, and Henry Owens is at least a year away. That makes it tough for John Farrell and Juan Nieves. They have to build a rotation that, for better of worse, was gutted only a few months after a World Series title.

Despite optimistic statements by Farrell and David Ross, I have little faith in a Buchholz resurgence. The Sox will probably looks to sign a James Shields or Justin Masterson, both a cut below Lester. If they want a Cole Hamels, they may have to deal some prospects (Jackie Bradley Jr comes to mind).

The route the Sox have taken is a tricky one. Building a staff from the bottom up may be less costly, but many minor league mound stars have had rude awakenings in the Big Show. They have to be wary- a rotation built on promises may not survive.