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Red Sox Rotation Set As Kyle Kendrick Assigned To Minor League Camp

BOSTON (CBS) -- With a Tuesday morning roster move, the Red Sox starting rotation appears to be set.

The team optioned Kyle Kendrick to minor league camp on Tuesday, meaning they feel confident in Drew Pomeranz beginning the season as a starter.

The 32-year-old Kendrick has had a great spring, going 3-0 with a 2.17 ERA while striking out 26 over 29 innings of work. He hasn't pitched in the majors since 2015, when he went 7-13 with the Colorado Rockies, making 20 starts throughout the Angels farm system in 2016.

Kendrick will remain with the Red Sox through his spring start against the Washington Nationals on Thursday, and will then be on standby should Boston need an injury replacement for anyone in their starting five. But at the moment, the Red Sox will go with a rotation of Rick Porcello, Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, Steven Wright and Pomeranz to begin the year.

Boston is already down a starter with David Price expected to begin the season on the DL, and there are still lingering questions surrounding Pomeranz at the end of the rotation. The lefty got a late start thanks to a sore elbow and had to leave one of his spring outings because of a sore triceps, not to mention his 9.00 ERA in three starts this spring hasn't done much to inspire faith in Pomeranz taking the ball every five days.

So should Pomeranz (or any other Boston starter) stumble out of the gate or sustain an injury, Kendrick will be there to answer the call.

With Tuesday's move, the Red Sox now have 36 players in their major league camp, with 31 players on their 40-man roster. They'll need to trim that down to 25 before Opening Day next Monday.

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