Richard

Fitts

This seems like a good break for Fitts, who figured to have major issues cracking Boston’s rotation going forward. The path to a spot is much clearer in St. Louis. Fitts is thus far 2-5 with a 3.97 ERA and a 49/23 K/BB in 65 2/3 innings as a major leaguer. His ceiling is limited and he missed the final five weeks of 2025 with neuritis, but he has a chance to be a solid enough fourth or fifth starter.

Fitts was a huge riser in the Red Sox system in 2025 after coming over from the Yankees a few years ago for Alex Verdugo. Fitts added velocity to his fastball and deepened his pitch mix, which put him on the big league radar; however, he battled injuries and posted just a 5.00 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and 40/16 K/BB ratio in 45 innings for the Red Sox in 2025. Even in his strong minor league season in 2024, he posted a 4.17 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 111/37 K/BB ratio in 116 2/3 innings at Triple-A. He could be a potential back-of-the-rotation starter, but he has yet to show the strikeout upside and solid WHIP to be more than that.

Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Cardinals will receive prospect left-hander Brandon Clarke and right-hander Richard Fitts. Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom made no secret that the club was shopping Gray, but the veteran right-hander had to waive his no-trade clause in order to facilitate a trade. Evidently, he had no issues going to Boston. Gray turned 36 earlier this month and is coming off a 4.28 ERA with 201 strikeouts over 180 2/3 innings in 2025. Gray was previously owed $35 million in 2026, with a $5 million buyout of his $30 million club option for 2027. However, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the deal is being reworked, so Gray will get a $31 million salary in 2026, with mutual option buyout of $10 million. Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the Cardinals are picking up $20 million of the $41 million guarantee.

There’s a lot going on with Boston’s rotation mix at the moment. The only certainty is that May will take the ball at some point on Friday or Saturday in the series. Top prospect Payton Tolle is making a bulk relief appearance on Friday for Triple-A Worcester with some combination of Kyle Harrison or Richard Fitts (biceps) in play to handle the other contest. It’s nearly impossible to speculate how the Red Sox are going to handle this quagmire with so many moving parts.

Fitts left last night’s game after feeling something in his forearm while throwing a pitch. The Red Sox will need to look elsewhere for a fifth starter this weekend and could turn to Kyle Harrison, who many thought would be the choice over Fitts on Monday.

Fitts will presumably continue undergoing further evaluation and testing to determine the severity of the issue. The 25-year-old righty left the contest with a trainer immediately after throwing one pitch at the outset of the sixth inning. There should be some additional clarity regarding his outlook in the near future, but it seems like a virtual lock that he’s headed for the injured list.

Fitts departed with a trainer after throwing just one pitch at the outset of the sixth inning. He was charged with three runs and struck out six over four innings in relief. We’re hesitant to rush to judgement, especially with injuries, but this certainly didn’t look good. Any sort of extended absence would be yet another hit to Boston’s pitching depth, which is really down to just Kyle Harrison and top prospect Payton Tolle.

The Red Sox will use Brennan Bernardino as the opener to face left-handed hitters Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson, and possibly even a second inning against Colton Cowser and Samuel Basallo before bringing Fitts into the game. Fitts has been solid for the Red Sox as a rookie, but has allowed five runs on seven hits in four innings his third time through the order, so being in a bulk relief role might be best for him. He’s on the streaming radar in deeper formats for this one.

Harrison and Richard Fitts are the front-runners to replace veteran Walker Buehler in Boston’s rotation. The most exciting option is top prospect Payton Tolle, but he might have to wait for his opportunity for now. Harrison came over from the Giants in the Rafael Devers stunner back in mid-June. The 24-year-old former top prospect remains a work in progress, but has strung together a couple encouraging outings in a row on the doorstep of the majors.

Fitts provides the Red Sox with some extra long relief depth heading into Thursday’s series opener against the Yankees. The 25-year-old righty has shown some flashes of fantasy potential this season, but he’s not a recommended option outside of extremely deep mixers.