Silva No Longer In Running For Fifth Starter

According to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, Carlos Silva will no longer be in consideration for the role of the fifth starter. Earlier today it was announced that Silva had been scratched from tomorrow's start against the Blue Jays. Soon after, we learned that Silva had shoulder inflammation and that he would not start the season in Boston. This leaves Vicente Padilla, Felix Doubront, and Andrew Miller in contention for the fifth starter (Aaron Cook has a shoulder injury and will miss the start of 2012). All three of those pitchers impressed in their pitching performances so far this spring. Last night, Padilla went 2 innings while allowing no runs on three hits and striking out two. On Saturday, Miller had a very good day-- he threw two innings, allowing no runs or hits while walking one and striking out three. Doubront was also strong, throwing two innings and allowing a hit and a walk-- also striking out one. This probably isn't a huge loss for the Sox, as I doubt Silva would've made the team anyways.

Would The Red Sox Be Ok With Padilla, Cook, and Silva?

Lately, many Red Sox fans (myself included) have been pushing for the Sox to sign a big-name pitcher like Roy Oswalt or, until recently, Edwin Jackson. I would love it if they did that, but the likelihood of that happening is very low at the moment. Therefore, today I will look into how the Red Sox could do with one of Vicente Padilla, Aaron Cook, or Carlos Silva rounding out the rotation.
     First, let's look at Vicente Padilla. Padilla has not seen a whole lot of time the past few years, as he has been derailed by injuries in 2011 and 2010, pitching in just 9 and 16 games, respectively. So, let's head back to his 2009 season, which he played for the Rangers and Dodgers. In that season, he went 12-6/4.46/97. His peripherals showed that he pretty much deserved those numbers, with a 4.45 FIP and 4.36 xFIP. His K/9 at 5.93 and BB/9 at 3.30 were both slightly worse than his career averages. His BABIP of .305 was pretty normal that year. His career stats show a 4.31/4.43/4.39 pitching line plus 6.33 K/9 and 3.17 BB/9. Overall, for a #5 starter, an ERA around 4.50 and something like 6 K/9 would be very acceptable.
     Next is Aaron Cook, who was one of a group of solid, good pitchers from about 2004-2009 until injuries derailed his career. In 18 games with the Rockies in 2011, he pitched to an unimpressive 3-10/6.03/48. However, his peripherals show that he shouldn't have been nearly as bad-- his FIP was 4.54 and his xFIP was 4.37, not too far off of Padilla's. However, his strikeouts have never been impressive, at just 4.45 in 2011 paired with a walk rate of 3.43. Still, the one thing Cook has always been able to do is make batters hit it on the ground. The sinkerballer's striking 55.1% ground ball rate in 2011 was actually lower than the 57.4% in his career.

     Like Cook, Carlos Silva doesn't strike anyone out either-- however, he doesn't walk anybody either. Silva didn't pitch in the majors in 2011, but he did pitch 21 games with the Cubs in 2010, so let's look at that year. Silva went 10-6/4.22/80 in a pretty nice year for the veteran. His peripheral stats show him as even better with a 3.75 FIP and xFIP. His strikeout rate was the best of his career at 6.37, compared to his career 4.02 per nine innings. His walk rate was stellar as always, at 1.91, compared to his career 1.73 mark. However, Silva's lack of strikeouts wouldn't bode well in the AL East, in my opinion. I think Padilla would be the best option for the #5 spot, and I actually think he could be a nice pickup-- a 4.50 ERA is never bad for a #5 guy.

Red Sox Sign Carlos Silva, Pedro Ciriaco

Today the Red Sox made two minor league moves: signing Carlos Silva (right) and Pedro Ciriaco (left) to minor league deals. If the 2012 season started today, Silva would probably be slated to be the Red Sox' #5 starter. I fully expect them to make another, bigger, move; however, since they have not yet, he'd be #5. Silva has had some trouble the past couple of years, and did not pitch in 2011 after being released by the Cubs and Yankees at different points. However, he did pitch in 2010, and he was decent for the Cubs, going 10-6/4.22/80 in 113 innings. Silva is not a strikeout pitcher or a walk pitcher, averaging 4.03 K/9 and 1.73 BB/9, the latter being the best of all active pitchers with at least 750 innings. In 2010, he also put together both a 3.75 FIP and xFIP. Pedro Ciriaco has spent the past couple years as a shortstop in the Pirates organization. In 2011, he batted .303/0/6 in 23 games; however, he did not fare so well in AAA, batting just .231/2/24 in 71 games. He is an above average fielder at shortstop, compiling a 9.7 UZR/150 in the major leagues. I think these are solid signings for the Red Sox, but I don't expect either to make a huge impact.