Carlos Silva to Boston Red Sox: Is He This Season's Kevin Millwood?

The Boston Red Sox signed 12 players to minor league contracts on Tuesday, most notably starting pitcher Carlos Silva.

Silva, 32, has played for a handful of teams but hasn't seen major league time since 2010 with the Chicago Cubs. Coming up with the Phillies in 2002 as a reliever before transitioning to a starter with the Twins in '04, in his career, Silva is 70-70 with a 4.68 ERA.

He pitched half of the 2011 season for the New York Yankees' farm system, including stints in Single-A Tampa, Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, but only appeared in seven total games and was released in early July.

As soon as I heard that Boston signed Silva, Kevin Millwood immediately came to mind. Millwood opted out of his contract with the Yankees last May and Boston signed him to a minor league deal just days later.

Boston hoped that he could pitch in the minors for a while and then come up to help in the rotation or bullpen. Millwood pitched in 13 games for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox before opting out of the deal in August, never have being called up to Boston.

The Colorado Rockies then signed Millwood to a minor league deal and called him up on August 10th. He pitched in nine games for the Rockies, compiling a 4-3 record and a sub-4.00 ERA. 

Boston could do the same thing with Silva as they did with Millwood. Silva will be at spring training, see a few innings here and there, and then start the season in Triple-A.

As of now, Boston's starting rotation is still technically incomplete, even though they've added Daniel Bard and Alfredo Aceves. Would it hurt to give Silva a few starts early in the season just to see what he can do?

The Yankees figured out early last season that this approach can be successful. They added veterans Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to their rotation, and the two paid off in the long run. 

It would be beneficial to get Silva a legitimate chance in the majors. Worse comes to worst, he pitches in five games and gets shelled.

You never know what is going to happen with these veterans given another shot—they might just surprise you.