The Red Sox are planning to select the contract of right-hander Richard Fitts tomorrow, according to Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. Per Smith, there’s a “really great chance” Fitts starts tomorrow’s game against the White Sox, though it’s also possible he’s used as a bulk reliever behind an Opener. The club’s 40-man roster is currently at capacity, meaning corresponding moves will be necessary to accommodate Fitts’s addition to both the 40-man and active rosters before tomorrow’s game.
Fitts, 24, was a sixth-round pick by the Yankees in the 2021 draft. After making his pro debut the following year, he reached the Double-A level with New York last year and delivered an impressive season with a 3.48 ERA in 152 2/3 innings of work across 27 starts where Fitts struck out 25.9% of batters faced. Over the offseason, Fitts was shipped to Boston alongside right-hander Greg Weissert and pitching prospect Nicholas Judice in the trade that sent Alex Verdugo to the Yankees.
It’s a trade that now looks rather lopsided in favor of the Red Sox, as Verdugo has struggled to an 84 wRC+ with New York this year and his lackluster performance has even prompted the club to consider bumping him from the lineup to accommodate top prospect Jasson Dominguez, though that has not happened to this point. Meanwhile, Weissert has provided the Red Sox with solid middle relief this year with a 3.81 ERA and 4.14 FIP in 52 innings of work. Now Fitts is set to join him in the majors coming off what has been a solid season at Triple-A, albeit not one as impressive as he posted at Double-A with the Yankees last year. In 116 2/3 innings of work this year, Fitts has posted a 4.17 ERA with a 22.6% strikeout rate against a 7.5% walk rate, as well as a career-best 42.4% grounder rate.
The right-hander will now make his way to Boston and look to carry that success he’s seen in the upper minors over into his major league debut. Should he start tomorrow’s game as expected, he’ll pitch opposite White Sox right-hander Chris Flexen, who sports a 5.36 ERA in 29 appearances with Chicago this year. While the Red Sox have a full rotation featuring Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Cooper Criswell at the moment, the club will now be able to offer their regular rotation extra rest ahead of a pair of tough series against the Orioles and Yankees next week by slotting Fitts in for a spot start.
Of course, the Red Sox are longshots to make the postseason at this point with a lackluster record of 72-70. Fangraphs gives the club a 9.9% chance to make the playoffs, although in order to do so they would need to run down either the Twins (76-66) or Royals (78-65) to capture an AL Wild Card spot with the AL East almost certainly out of reach. Even if getting their regular starters an additional day of rest ahead of a tough stretch of the schedule is unlikely to make an impact in the standings, however, it’s worth noting that the Red Sox would’ve needed to add Fitts to the 40-man roster this offseason even if they didn’t want him to get him big league exposure down the stretch in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, from which he’ll need to be protected this winter.