The last two games at Fenway Park have felt like deja vu for the Boston Red Sox.
Last August, the Red Sox’s injury-plagued bullpen imploded, contributing to a steep drop in the standings. The team ultimately finished at exactly .500, five games out of a wild card spot, after holding a playoff spot entering the All-Star break.
For the most part, things have been better since the break this year, but after back-to-back losses where the bullpen got slaughtered late, Red Sox fans’ guards are up. And after a quick glance at the depth chart, it’s easy to see why.
Boston only has four right-handed pitchers in the bullpen right now, and two have proven useless lately (Jordan Hicks and Isaiah Campbell). The return of Justin Slaten from the injured list could be a big boost, but as the second-year setup man heads out on his rehab assignment Tuesday, the last thing the Red Sox can afford is to risk bringing him back too quickly.
Is there another solution already waiting in Triple-A, though?
On Tuesday, Red Sox television and radio color analyst Lou Merloni floated the idea of moving starting pitcher Richard Fitts, who has split his time between the minors and majors this season, to the bullpen for the stretch run.
“The other name that’s intriguing is Richard Fitts,” Merloni said in his two-minute monologue posted to X. “It’s been a weird year for Fitts, but can he go to the bullpen and be a right-handed reliever throwing 98, 99 (mph)? Just a thought.”
Fitts, 25, made the Red Sox rotation out of spring training and looked promising in his first two starts, but he wasn’t the same when he returned in late May after a six-week stay on the injured list. Overall, he’s got a 4.83 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 10 starts in the majors this year, and a 3.60 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in seven starts in the minors (six in Triple-A, one in Double-A).
Boston has kept Fitts stretched out as a starter, and outside of Merloni’s comments, there’s been no real indication that they plan to use him out of the bullpen. But with other depth options available in the rotation and the bullpen searching for answers, this might be the perfect experiment to undertake.
Why not give Fitts, who saw an uptick in velocity between 2024 and 2025, the opportunity to throw a couple of high-leverage innings in Triple-A? The Red Sox need creative solutions at this point, and they hardly have time to waste as the stretch run approaches.
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