Well, that was one of the quickest flameouts I’ve ever seen for a guy who was a Spring Training stud. Kyle Kendrick lasted just two starts in the big leagues before the Red Sox optioned him back down to Pawtucket and I don’t think we’ll be seeing him again.
I know that the move has some to do with the fact that the Red Sox don’t need a fifth starter until the 20th but I think once that times comes around, Kendrick will be getting left out in the cold. I’m not mad about it either because Kendrick simply isn’t good. Last night he gave up six earned runs for his second consecutive start and taxed the bullpen again by failing to get out of the fifth inning. He’s faced two fairly good lineups, but it’s no excuse for getting slapped around like he has.
Kendrick’s ERA is at 12.96 and he’s struck out three, yes three, batters in total. That’s pitiful and the Red Sox can’t be having that right now when the team is already struggling. As a result of his horrible start last night, the team needs Eduardo Rodriguez to somehow pitch past the sixth inning and they need to avoid getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers. It’s getting ugly out there folks.
I don’t blame the Red Sox for trying Kendrick out though, because even though he was probably always going to stink, he was a low-risk, high-reward guy. He hadn’t pitched since 2015 but he’s still a guy that’s been around the big leagues and the options down on the farm are pretty thin. Like I said, Kendrick had a great spring and with his June 15th opt out, he was the guy we had to give a shot to first after Steven Wright went down with an injury.
It just turned out that he wasn’t going to be one of those rare cases where a guy magically becomes good and instead he was still the same guy who stunk even back in 2015. This is another reason why preseason performance doesn’t matter much and I think the Red Sox and Kendrick will part ways soon enough.
When the need for a fifth starter does come around, Brian Johnson is probably the guy for the job. I know Henry Owens is putting up good numbers in the minors right now but I don’t think I ever want to willingly watch that guy pitch again so I’m all on the Johnson bandwagon. Johnson seems like he can be a solid fifth starter in the bigs and he was just named International League Pitcher of the Week so I think he’s your best bet right now.
So long to Kyle Kendrick, who was another forgettable pitcher that did nothing of value in his Red Sox tenure. I certainly won’t miss him and please God don’t allow the Sox to ever let him back up in the majors again.
