JUST IN: According to Insider, Alex Cora is facing backlash for his “tough” Red Sox roster decisions, and many are “very upset” as a result of…

admin | March 16, 2024 | Boston Red Sox | No Comments

Alex Cora: ‘Tough’ Red Sox roster decisions might make someone ‘very upset’

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Opening Day is only 13 days away and manager Alex Cora has yet to finalize his five-man starting rotation.

“Not close,” Cora said, laughing at JetBlue Park on Friday.

Cora said he expects the rotation to be set by the time the Red Sox leave Fort Myers next Sunday (March 24). Boston heads to Texas for two exhibition games (March 25, 26) against the Rangers at Globe Life Field before flying to Seattle for a four-game opening series against the Mariners.

Cora sees a scenario where a pitcher competing for the final two starting rotation spots might be optioned to Triple-A Worcester to begin the season there as a starter instead of making Boston’s 26-man roster as a reliever. That way, he will remain stretched out as a starter.

“There’s going to be tough decisions,” Cora said. “Maybe somebody’s going to be very upset at us because they don’t break camp with us. When you start getting better players and you have guys capable of getting people out at the big league level, then other decisions are based on other stuff. It’s a 40-man roster. Not everybody that breaks camp with us to Seattle is going to be a part of it the whole season. We just have to be very smart the way we use our pieces.”

Brayan Bello and Nick Pivetta are locks to begin the season in the starting rotation. Kutter Crawford is close to a lock. That leaves Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, Josh Winckowski and Cooper Criswell competing for the final two spots.

Winckowski is in the running for a rotation spot after he pitched out of the Red Sox bullpen all last season. He made 59 relief outings and one appearance as an opener. He logged 84 ⅓ innings. It seems logical for him to begin the year in Boston’s bullpen if he doesn’t make the rotation. But he also could begin the year in Worcester’s rotation to keep him stretched out.

Winckowski allowed six runs (five earned), eight hits and one walk while striking out two in 3 ⅔ innings against the Phillies on Thursday.

“People make a big deal out of yesterday but if you watched the game, he didn’t get hit hard,” Cora said. “Just there was contact. Same thing with Whitlock. There’s going to be contact and there’s going to be days like that. There’s going to be a few off the handle, a few hits here, a few hits there. I think he maneuvered the day the right way. He went four, which is very important. His stuff is good. He’s still in the hunt for a spot in the rotation understanding what he can do out of the bullpen. We know that. That’s a decision we’ll make probably towards the end of next week. They just have to keep going, keep progressing, get their innings up there knowing we can go the other way around (in the bullpen). Instead of going five, you pitch two innings when the season comes.”

MassLive’s latest Opening Day roster projection has both Winckowski and Criswell making the team as relievers.

Winckowski, Houck and Whitlock all have split time between the starting rotation and bullpen in the big leagues. Criswell made all 10 of his appearances (33 innings) out of Tampa’s bullpen last year.

“We just had a meeting and we talked about certain scenarios, all that, what we’re trying to accomplish,” Cora said. “The goals we set with players — are they close to them? Have they accomplished them and all that? We feel really good with what we have. But there’s going to be decisions based on who plays center, who’s going to be in the rotation, who are we playing the first 28 games or whatever it is? The good thing is flexibility, especially in the pitching staff, is going to help us. We’ve got guys who have options, a luxury that me as a manager I’ve never had before.”

The Red Sox will play 10 games on the West Coast with a day off April 4 between the Athletics and Angels series. They also have a day off April 8 before their home opener, then play the next 13 games and 19 times in 20 days from April 9-28.

“I do believe at one point we will need a sixth starter,” Cora said. “Especially in that homestand. Two off days are going to help us out. But then it’s 13 in a row. At one point there — is it a spot start or a bullpen day? I like the spot start better than the bullpen day.”

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