Red Sox replacing Richard Fitts on roster Tuesday; could trade addition fill rotation spot?

Richard Fitts appears headed for Worcester after a tough outing Monday. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig)AP

The Red Sox are all but certain to call up a fresh arm to take Richard Fitts’ roster spot on a temporary basis before Tuesday’s game. The more pressing question is who will fill his rotation spot permanently.

After a brutal, rain-soaked 5-4 loss to the Twins in which Fitts was hit hard in four uneven innings and Alex Cora used five relievers out of his limited bullpen, Cora intimated that Fitts would be optioned back to Triple-A Worcester. The righty, indeed, was called into the manager’s office at Target Field. The Red Sox, with Aroldis Chapman (back spasms) and Garrett Whitlock (motion sickness from the club’s turbulent flight) not 100%, aim to call up a pitcher Tuesday.

Right-hander Cooper Criswell is fully rested and could come up to give the bullpen some length. Other candidates on the 40-man roster are Zack Kelly — who is slated to soon have his rehab assignment transferred from Greenville to Worcester — and Isaiah Campbell.

“We need an arm here,” said Cora. “We’ll see how we make it work.”

Whoever fills Fitts’ spot on Tuesday likely won’t have it for long. The Red Sox, with three days to go before Thursday’s trade deadline, need rotation help more than ever. Behind a steady trio of Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello, Boston has been rolling with a shaky Walker Buehler and an inconsistent Fitts. Now, with Fitts back in Worcester, that fifth spot is wide open.

Criswell and lefty Kyle Harrison represent the top two options at Triple-A Worcester but the Red Sox are aiming higher and looking to acquire rotation help for the stretch run. From less attainable, controllable options like Minnesota’s Joe Ryan, Miami’s Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera and Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller to rentals like Arizona’s Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, Baltimore’s Charlie Morton and Zach Eflin, San Diego’s Dylan Cease, Chicago’s Adrian Houser or Cleveland’s Shane Bieber, the options are out there. It would be a major surprise to see Breslow let the deadline pass without acquiring at least one.

With Hunter Dobbins and Kutter Crawford out for the season and both Tanner Houck and Patrick Sandoval doubtful to pitch in the majors after experiencing rehab setbacks, Boston’s rotation depth is thinner than ever. In the wake of Dobbins tearing his ACL on July 11, the Red Sox turned his spot over to Fitts, who broke camp with the club and impressed before suffering a pectoral strain in April. The results have been inconsistent since, and after allowing two runs and four hits while walking three Monday, Fitts’ ERA sits at 4.83 in 10 starts this season. Two poor outings in a row put his spot into jeopardy.

The most consequential sequence of Fitts’ night came in the fifth inning when he walked No. 8 hitter Christian Vázquez, then allowed a two-run homer to DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who entered the game having gone 7-for-71 (.099) to start his year.

“He (Fitts) got hit hard today,” said Cora. “There were a lot of loud outs. We walked Christian, the eighth hitter. Then the homer ... He’s been inconsistent.”

Fitts’ season has been full of, well, starts and fits. He rushed back from the injured list to make an abbreviated start (three innings) in Milwaukee on May 27. His next outing was so poor (six runs in a single inning) that the Red Sox had to send him back down just to continue building his pitch count. Fitts returned to the big leagues on June 25 with Dobbins dealing with elbow trouble and logged a 3.55 ERA over just 12 ⅔ innings in a three-start span. He returned after a 15-day layoff with a stinker in Philadelphia last week and it was more of the same at Target Field as the Red Sox started an abbreviated road trip with a tough-to-swallow loss.

“I didn’t like it,” Fitts said. “There was a lot of hard contact. I really dove into my practice this week and tried to get better, but when that doesn’t translate, none of that matters. I’ve got to figure out a better way to gameplan and get ready for new hitters and new situations.”

Fitts will likely return to Worcester, for the third time this season, as he attempts to put himself back in a mix that the Red Sox hope gets much more crowded in the next 72 hours.

“I think I’ve got really good stuff, but I’m not getting the results I should with the stuff that I have,” Fitts said. “Really frustrated with that.”