Saturday, February 16, 2008

Tavarez surprised his option was picked up

Julian Tavarez

Julian Tavarez was surprised that the Red Sox picked up his $3.8 million team option back in November.

“I didn’t think they were going to do it. I was happy they did, but I was surprised. I didn’t think they were going to pick it up.”

He was left off the playoff roster in 2007, but he was a big contributor all year. The Red Sox very well may have missed the postseason without his 23 starts and 134.7 IP.

Tavarez doesn’t read the papers in the offseason, so he didn’t know that Schilling had been injured.

“I come to spring training and I say, ‘Hello. Good morning. How are things going?’ And they said, ‘You have a chance to be No. 5 in the rotation.’ ” “I wasn’t happy Schilling is hurt. Schilling is a good man and I’m sad that Schilling is not healthy. We’re going to hold a spot until he comes back.

“In my mind I will change a little bit about thinking, ‘OK, I’m going to be a starter in spring training.’ I’m not coming to spring training wondering what I’m going to do. Now I know I’m a starter.”

Whether he remains a starter for long will depend on the health of the rotation, and the club’s strategy for Buchholz. 

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Buchholz and Tavarez to battle for final spot?

Buchholz and Tavarez

John Farrell stated that now that Schilling is out indefinitely, the final spot in the rotation is up for grabs. “The two very clear candidates for that are Clay and Julian Tavarez. I think we can’t [forget to] recognize what Julian provided for us last year.”

He’s right about Tavarez. He may have saved the season with the 23 starts he made last year, as most of them were made when a regular starter was on the DL. His numbers weren’t always pretty, but he gave 5-6 innings a start and sometimes more. Between his starts and his bullpen work, he pitched more than 123 innings last season.

Tavarez’ value is his versatility. He can contribute to the team as a starter or a long reliever, so the optimum situation is to put him in a position where he can do both if needed. The Red Sox will put him in the bullpen as much as possible since that role provides them with the most flexibility—slotting him into the rotation full-time greatly reduces his value.

Of course, Buchholz’ value is solely as a starter.

The faster the Red Sox can get their pitchers into those roles, the better off they’ll be. I just don’t see how they can do that right out of the gate, given the innings limitations placed on Buchholz. 

Regardless of what Farrell says, I expect that the decision on the final rotation spot will be based primarily on what the Red Sox feel is best for Buchholz. This kid has the potential to be a future ace, and they’re going to baby him a bit. Because he’s a young pitcher, and because he had to be shut down at the end of 2007, the Red Sox have established an innings pitched limit of 180-190. If Buchholz stays healthy, that’s probably a full season minus a handful of starts.

It would make sense to start Buchholz in Pawtucket, give him a limit of a few innings per start, and let Tavarez start every fifth day for the first month of the season. Then they can pull Julian back into the bullpen, taking a turn in the rotation as needed, and let Buchholz pitch the rest of the season. 

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