Allen Webster is one of the prospects coming to the Boston Red Sox in the blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his development will be vital to the Red Sox success moving forward.
Per Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com, the Red Sox sent Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to the Dodgers in exchange for James Loney, Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster, Ivan De Jesus and Jerry Sands.
Here’s why Webster is so important for Boston.
Lack of Pitching
It’s no secret that the Red Sox have seen their starting rotation struggle this season.
Boston is currently ranked 26th in the MLB with a starting rotation that has a combined 4.88 ERA. That has been a major source of the team’s problems this season.
Now that Beckett is gone, the Sox will need to add another arm to their rotation in the seasons to come. Suspect starters like Aaron Cook and Franklin Morales simply won’t be enough to help Boston improve next season and quite possibly might not be around to even try.
The Sox desperately need arms, and Webster could help that. Although he won’t be helping them this season, he could become a staple in their rotation for the future.
Cost of Pitching
To land a solid starting pitcher in the MLB nowadays, teams have to open up their wallets and nobody knows the risk of that more than the Red Sox.
After all, they did sign John Lackey to a lucrative deal thinking he’d be a star in their rotation, but that hasn’t even come close to panning out.
Being that Webster is still a prospect, he will be under the team’s control for several years, and that gives Boston time to develop him into a top-notch starter who will be cheap.
It isn’t often that teams get solid starting pitching for next to nothing, but Webster gives the Red Sox an opportunity to do just that.
Bleak Outlook for Young Starters
At one time, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester were thought to be the future of the Sox rotation, and while that still holds true, things aren’t looking as good as they once did.
Lester has struggled mightily in 2012, posting a 8-10 record with an ERA of 4.98. Not exactly ace numbers for a guy who Boston thought could handle the job.
Buchholz has battled injuries the past few seasons, leaving his ultimate viability in question. But it isn’t injuries that are the most concerning thing about Buchholz at this point, as his 2012 season has been dreadful.
Buchholz does have an impressive 11-4 record, but his 4.47 ERA leaves a lot to be desired.
The two youngest members of the Red Sox rotation were supposed to carry the team into the future, but the 2012 season has put that in doubt.
Webster will be the next in line as the future of the team’s starting five and if he can develop into a solid starter, he could help reinject hope back into Boston’s future rotation alongside an improved Lester and Buchholz.
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