FORT MYERS, Fla. — Rick Porcello made his big-league debut 10 years ago, making 31 starts as a 20-year-old for the Detroit Tigers. He has pitched alongside some of the game’s best: Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in Detroit, and Chris Sale and David Price in Boston.
His 307 career starts are the most on the Boston Red Sox staff. He won a Cy Young Award in 2016 when he went 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA.
This spring, in what may be his final season with the Red Sox, he’s learning from one of the team’s least-experienced starters.
Eduardo Rodriguez is 25 years old and the only starter in Boston’s rotation not to have made 100 career starts. He’s coming off his best season, going 13-5 with a 3.82 ERA for Boston in 2018. He’s been labeled a potential ace, but injuries have kept him from realizing that potential.
Here in the early days of spring training, players spend a lot of time on back fields tinkering with their game. Last week Porcello asked Rodriguez what makes his change-up so effective.
Before long, Porcello was trying E-Rod’s change-up grip. And suddenly the veteran righty was learning from the young lefty.
“He showed me his changeup grip,” said Porcello, “and that was a pitch that was kind of on and off for me last year, and something that I believe I really need to get better.
“So he showed me his grip, and I’ve been working on it and it feels really good right now. A couple years ago I was teaching him a cutter, or (David Price) was or even Chris (Sale) and now hopefully I’ve learned something from him that can make me better.”
For a guy who has won the game’s top pitching award, Porcello isn’t one to simply repeat what made him successful. He’s had seasons where he hasn’t been successful, so he needs to reinvent himself along the way.
When he came into the league in 2009, Porcello was a sinkerball pitcher. According to FanGraphs, he threw his fastball (two-seam and four-seam) 77.3 percent of the time. He virtually never threw a slider (just 5.4 percent of the time). Fast forward to last season and his fastball use was down to 50 percent. He threw a slider 24.3 percent of the time, by far the most he’d ever thrown a slider in his season.
“Everyone’s different,” said Porcello. “A guy like (Sale), I don’t think he needs to change a thing. If it’s not broke don’t fix it. I’ve had some ups and downs … the game’s changed. I need to change with it.”
In 2019, that could include a change in his change-up. As for Rodriguez, he was thrilled to be able to help a veteran who has helped him along the way.”
“He’s helped me so much,” said Rodriguez. “He’s shown me how to play the game the right way. He tried my grip and there was some really good movement. I think it’s going to be really good for him.”
The Red Sox are an old-school team in some ways, built on the foundation of a strong starting rotation. While other teams cut back on the importance of starters and rely more heavily on relievers, the Sox think their best hope to repeat begins with their starting pitchers.
Here in the early days of spring training, those starters are working with one another to improve. Even before they throw their first real pitches of the preseason.
Tom Caron is a studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.
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