As it stands, the Sox have a rotation of Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz, and Tim Wakefield in place for next season.
But Buchholz has yet to throw more than 92 innings in a major league season and has a career ERA of 4.91. The coming season is expected to be a strong one for Buchholz, 25, given the progress he showed in August and September - that is, unless he becomes the centerpiece in a trade for an established star such as Toronto ace Roy Halladay.
The 43-year-old Wakefield made only four starts after July 8 and was not on the postseason roster because of a back injury that required surgery after the season. The hope is that Wake field will be ready for the start of the season, but Epstein already has acknowledged that it’s unrealistic to expect the knuckleballer to make 30 starts given his age and the back injury.
The only prospect close to major league proficiency is 24-year-old righthander Junichi Tazawa, who made four starts for the Sox last season after going 9-7 with a 2.55 ERA in the minor leagues.
Epstein tried filling the gaps last season with three veteran pitchers, signing Brad Penny and John Smoltz before the season, then Paul Byrd in August. The trio was 10-16 with a 6.17 ERA; the Sox went 16-22 in the games they started. They did give the Sox 205 2/3 innings, though.
Smoltz and Penny were released in August, having cost the Sox approximately $8 million.
Given their other needs, the Sox are unlikely to pursue John Lackey, Randy Wolf, or any of the other notable starters on the free agent market. But they figure to be active with the second and third tier of available starters.
Ben Sheets could be the prize pickup in that group. The 31-year-old righthander has not pitched in 14 months because of a torn flexor tendon. Sheets had surgery in February and skipped the entire 2009 season to rehab, working at TMI Sports Medicine in Arlington, Texas.
“He is recovering well and will be 100 percent by spring training,’’ agent Casey Close wrote in an e-mail.
