Pitching Depth
When the Sox began their rebuilding efforts after the 2016 season, they were able to accumulate a lot of pitching depth through their first two trades with the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals. The trade with Boston provided the Sox with Michael Kopech along with Moncada and Luis Alexander Basabe in exchange for Chris Sale.
By trading Adam Eaton to the Nationals, the Sox received three pitchers in return which included Giolito, Lopez and Dane Dunning. The Sox would add more pitching depth to their farm system with the trade of Jose Quintana to the Cubs in 2017 and received Dylan Cease along with Eloy Jimenez in return.
The Sox also did a good job in drafting pitchers over the past few years such as Jimmy Lambert, Alec Hansen, Zack Burdi, and Ian Hamilton. This has given the Sox strong pitching depth in the minors which could potentially help them become more competitive in the coming years. The Sox likely won’t have to trade players for pitching help which won’t weaken another strong area of theirs with their outfield prospect depth.
Having a lot of pitching depth will go a long way for the Sox. They don’t have to rush Cease to the majors this season and they can also take their time with Dunning’s development especially after his latest health scare. Some of the aforementioned pitchers might not pan out, but the Sox having depth is better than the organization needing to trade for pitching in the future or attempt to sign a free agent pitcher.