When Clay Buchholz went down with an elbow injury, that made a very thin starting rotation for the Boston Red Sox even thinner. I am talking paper thin. It is almost scary how little they have right now in the rotation.

Until Buchholz returns and no one is exactly sure when that is, Eduardo Rodriguez would have to be considered the No. 1 guy. He certainly has the talent to be that, but one concern is the fact that because he is a young pitcher, one has to look at his innings throughout the course of the season. Will this turn into another Stephen Strasburg situation? That is fine to protect Rodriguez for the good of his career, but you also can’t considered him to be the ace if Boston goes that route.

By default that would make Wade Miley the second best starting pitcher and Rick Porcello the third best. Both of those pitchers would be solid in the middle of the rotation, but to be at the front, that is not a group that you would want in a one-game playoff or division series at all. We don’t know what Brian Johnson is going to be like because he hasn’t made his major-league debut yet. We also don’t even know who the fifth starter is going to be, although signs point to Steven Wright.

If Boston has any hope of some sort of postseason aspirations, they are going to have to secure this rotation. Get a veteran, some reinforcements, whatever — but get help. As much as I like Ben Cherington, it seems as though he really dropped the ball here.

Carter Roane is a Boston Red Sox writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter@CarterGRoane, “Like”him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.