Allen Webster will make his first start of the 2014 season for the Boston Red Sox Sunday afternoon, taking over Jake Peavy's spot in the rotation after Saturday's trade with the San Francisco Giants.
Webster has seen precious little success at the major league level, but even as he was giving up run after run in his various 2013 stints in Boston, he gave Red Sox fans some reason to dream on his future by showing swing-and-miss stuff on any given pitch. We haven't had a chance to see yet what improvements Webster has made with another year of seasoning, and if there were some early red flags with his minor league peripherals, he's tightened up in the last couple months and has kept runs off the board throughout.
Interestingly, Mike Carp will be in the lineup for the Red Sox today. It's a bit...awkward seeing the backup first baseman batting sixth after yesterday's revelation that he had requested a trade from the team, but if want to have any chance of finding a buyer, they'll need Carp to show more than he has thus far this season.
First pitch is at 1:40 p.m. ET with broadcasts on NESN and WEEI.