Dave Dombrowski: Red Sox Pitchers Haven't Been 'What We Expected or Hoped'

Amid a disappointing start to the team's World Series title defense, Boston Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski doesn't believe his pitching staff has carried its weight to this point.

"We built our ballclub for them to be our strong suit," Dombrowski said of the team's rotation, according to the Boston Globe's Alex Speier. "I don't think it's been what we expected or hoped."

"They're a very talented group of pitchers," he continued. "... They're the guys who are supposed to carry us, really. That's why I think they've been fine. They've been OK. But I can't say they've really carried us at any point. The bullpen keeps getting pointed to all the time, I think a lot of times unfairly. It’s just that collectively, in a lot of places, we haven't done as well as we hoped."

Boston's pitching staff as a whole currently ranks 17th in the majors with a 4.60 ERA, with the rotation sitting in 18th place with a 4.70 ERA and the bullpen at 17th with a 4.45 ERA. Meanwhile, Red Sox relievers have blown 18 save opportunities (in 35 chances), tied for the second-most in all of baseball.

Outside of David Price (6-2, 3.33 ERA in 15 starts), there have not been many bright spots in the rotation throughout the first half of the season. Chris Sale—who signed a five-year, $145 million extension in March—got off to a rough start, going 0-5 with a 6.30 ERA through his first six starts. He showed signs of returning to All-Star form by posting a 2.78 ERA in May and June, but he has surrendered a total of 10 runs over his last two starts.

The southpaw has owned up to his poor performance, recently calling his pitching "absolutely embarrassing."

"I'm supposed to be a big part of this team, a big part of this pitching staff, and I've probably been the biggest crutch," Sale said on Wednesday. "I know who I am and who I'm supposed to be for this team, and I haven't been anything close. I'm 3-8; that's absolutely embarrassing. On a team like this, they need me to be better and I haven't been there for them."

He is hardly alone in the struggles, though. 2016 American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello has a 5.07 ERA through 17 starts, and although he is 8-4 on the season, Eduardo Rodriguez's ERA is up at 4.79. Meanwhile, 2018 postseason hero Nathan Eovaldi has been limited to just four starts due to injury.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora recently told The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey that the team will explore all of its options in regard to the fifth spot in the rotation moving forward, including the possibility of using an opener.

As Dombrowski noted, a large part of Boston's success last year was due to the pitching staff. The rotation ranked eighth in the majors with a 3.77 ERA en route to winning a franchise-record 108 games during the regular season.

The Red Sox's pitching woes have caused them to fall 11 games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. On the other hand, they are just 2.5 games back in the AL Wild Card race as the All-Star break approaches.