Red Sox Pitcher Steven Wright Suspended 80 Games

[navamind]

Is the dude a good enough pitcher to be worth this headache? Last of the knuckleballers, and I guess he can pitch pretty much limitless innings of long relief, but now the dude can't even play in the postseason.

He has a 3.77 ERA in 341.1 innings, but he's also pitched only 77.2 innings the last two years between injuries and his previous suspension. One of his injuries was a result of him being used as a pinch runner for some stupid reason. Wright was pretty much the No. 6 guy, but there's not a lot of minor league pitching depth. Brian Johnson did pretty well as a swingman and I think he has more upside than Wright, but he also has no options and may not be in Boston much longer. Mike Shawaryn is probably the most intriguing pitcher in Pawtucket, but he could still use some more time in AAA and even then I think his future role is in the bullpen.

 

[navamind]

and while he does have a 3.77 ERA, his FIP and xFIP are considerably higher (4.36 FIP and 4.59 xFIP). the strikeout/walk rates are meh, but for a knuckleball pitcher he hasn't given up very many home runs (1.05 HR/9) though his HR/FB rate in 2016 looked rather fluky.

 

[williewilliejuan]

Is this the guy who lived on a one-way, dead-end street?