With the Red Sox sputtering this week and struggling to find answers in the back half of the pitching rotation, it’s fair to revisit the team’s relative lack of action at the trade deadline. With the Sox having visited the Diamondbacks this weekend, reports surfaced about the trade talks that the two teams engaged in, primarily centered around Zac Gallen. What was the sticking point? The Sox wouldn’t include AAA pitching prospect Connelly Early in the deal. (Alex Speier and Tim Healy, Boston Globe)
I’m not going to complain about the Sox holding on to Early instead of giving him up for a rental with a 4.77 ERA… but the starting pitching situation does look dire right now. While Garrett Crochet will give the team a good chance to win tonight against the Sacramento A’s, tomorrow night’s starter, Dustin May, will not. And then we don’t even know who Wednesday’s starter will be. Payton Tolle — who has not pitched on regular rest at all this season, at any level — will not take the ball when his turn in the rotation comes up in lovely Sacramento. The Sox are currently looking at either another bullpen game, Kyle Harrison, or Connelly Early himself, in what would be his MLB debut. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Despite the need to manage his workload, it sure looks like Tolle is going to stick in the rotation for the remainder of the season (they literally don’t have a choice!) So he’s going to have to learn to pitch with more than just his elite fastball, and he’s going to have to do it on the fly. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
While the rotation is in shambles, the bullpen is better than it’s been in years. That’s thanks in large part to Aroldis Chapman, who is on an absolutely historic run of hitless pitching, and who struck out four batters in one inning against the DBacks. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Chapman’s success comes with an unexpected benefit: it helps keep the memory of Luis Tiant alive at Fenway. (Rich Tenorio, Boston Globe)
Like the bullpen, the outfield defense remains largely solid all-around, and flat-out amazing when Ceddanne Rafaela is patrolling centerfield. After making yet another web gem this weekend, here he is talking about this favorite plays of the season. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)
