Payton Tolle will start Game 1 for Red Sox

There had been some rumblings that the 37-year-old hurler was mulling retirement but ultimately, it became a relatively easy decision. Gray noted, “My family and I have talked about it and it’s an easy decision... I still want to win a World Series, whether that is [with] Boston or with whoever wants me.” He’s expected to decline his side of his $30 million mutual option with the Red Sox and should be very highly sought after in free agency this winter.

Gray seems to have plenty left in the tank as he approaches his 37th birthday in November, but it’s not the first time he’s hinted that he doesn’t see himself going the Justin Verlander route. He was also especially frustrated with the way his final start ended, suggesting that manager Chad Tracy should have trusted him to get more outs instead of pulling him in the fifth. “I don’t know what the future holds for me,” Gray said. “I do know that I walked off that mound with my chest back and my chin up, and I can definitely be proud that I left it all out there until the ball was taken out of my hands.” Gray will be eligible for free agency this winter, likely by opting out of his contract after the Red Sox pick up their portion of a $30 million option.

Gray kept his former team off the scoreboard until the fourth inning when Luis García Jr. tagged him for a classic Yankee Stadium solo homer into the right-field seats. He was pulled with two outs in the fifth at just 70 pitches with Red Sox manager Chad Tracy turning to Erik Miller to face Cody Bellinger with a pair of runners on-base. The move wound up backfiring for the second consecutive game in the series as Miller immediately surrendered an RBI single to extend New York’s lead. The 36-year-old impending free agent heads to the open market after compiling a 2.72 ERA and 149/46 K/BB ratio across 169 innings during his lone season with the Red Sox.

Tolle didn’t look overmatched in his first career postseason start on the road at Yankee Stadium, but he was ultimately outdueled by his New York counterpart Cam Schlitter, who posted 10 strikeouts over 6 1/3 shutout frames. The 23-year-old southpaw did enough to keep the Red Sox within striking distance in the middle innings as an RBI single from Austin Wells with two outs in the third inning accounted for all of the damage against him. He finished with four strikeouts and only issued one walk. He would get the nod for Game 1 of the AL Division Series if the Red Sox find a way to rally in the best-of-three showdown in New York.

Playoff ready, Gray was in the proverbial rocking chair during this start. It was the ninth time in his last 10 starts completing at least six innings and the Guardians barely threatened against him. An excellent finale to a stellar regular season, Gray finishes with a 2.72 ERA, 149 strikeouts, and 46 walks across 169 innings. The next time he’ll take the mound will be in the Bronx against the Yankees in the Wild Card round.

It’s unclear how the Red Sox are going to handle the situation since they’re ostensibly locked into the second Wild Card spot heading into the playoffs next week. Patrick Sandoval was scheduled to start Sunday’s season finale and will presumably get the ball on Saturday instead, weather permitting. Jake Bennett, Payton Tolle and Brayan Bello are also in the mix to pitch as well. It’ll be Matthew Boyd and David Peterson most getting the ball for the Cubs during the twin bill with Justin Steele (elbow) in the mix to return from the injured list this weekend. There are a ton of variables that fantasy managers need to monitor with Boston facing inclement weather from roughly Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.

Tolle’s velocity was down by about one mph tonight, but he still did solid work in striking out five and finishing with a 32 percent CSW. He’ll head into the postseason 9-6 with a 3.03 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 148 2/3 innings. It looks like he’ll probably pitch Game 1 against the Yankees next Tuesday.

Tolle draws back into Boston’s rotation after having his previous start against the Rays last weekend pushed back for workload and postseason scheduling reasons. The talented 23-year-old former top prospect is unlikely to work too deep into this outing with the Red Sox having already clinched a playoff spot, but he’s still worth rolling with in nearly all fantasy leagues. This will likely be his final regular-season outing before the Red Sox face the Yankees in the playoffs.

The Red Sox haven’t hid the strong possibility that Tolle wasn’t going to pitch this weekend, but it’s a tough break for fantasy managers hoping for an outing against the Rays during playoff action. There’s still a chance that Tolle starts Sunday’s series finale, but the Boston hasn’t finalized their pitching plans beyond having Brayan Bello start Saturday’s contest.

Bello draws the starting assignment for Saturday’s game against the Rays with Payton Tolle apparently being skipped in the rotation in an effort to manage his workload and set up Boston’s rotation for the postseason. Obviously, Bello has had more success coming out of the bullpen as opposed to being used as a traditional starter. Still, this is a decent spot for fantasy purposes in pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field.