Aceves Continues to Add Value

In early February of 2011, the Red Sox signed righty Alfredo Aceves as an insurance policy. He spent parts of the last 3 seasons with the New York Yankees, but was not re-signed this off-season due to injury concerns. The Red Sox know all too well the importance of having pitching depth, so Theo and his crew took a chance. The 28-year old pitcher was looking for an opportunity to pitch in the majors, whether in a reliever role, starter role, or both. It appeared that his role with the Red Sox would be left up in the air as the 2011 season began, with question marks about how long/if he would spend time on the major league roster. Now nearly 3 months into the 2011 season, Aceves’ value is no longer in question and he has in fact added significant value to this club.

Through 72 games of the season, Aceves has pitched in 18 of them, starting 3 (soon to be 4 tonight). He has a strong 3.30 ERA in 43.2 innings pitched, allowing 16 earned runs on 38 hits. He has 24 Ks and has a strong 4.9 Ks per nine innings and a 1.50 K to BB ratio. His value goes well beyond his statistics and tonight’s game is a perfect example. Josh Beckett has been feeling under the weather this week and yesterday it was determined that he would not be making his start on tonight. Tito just had to look into his bullpen for a starter, tapping Aceves, after a spot start last night from Andrew Miller. With current injuries to Daisuke Matsuzaka (season-ending) and Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox would be scrambling for a spot starter if it wasn’t for a guy like Aceves. The same situation arose earlier in the season when John Lackey was on the DL and on cue, Aceves stepped up.

Not every single outing from Aceves is pretty, but as a reliever, he will eat innings and keep games within reach and as a starter he will give you as much as he can and for as long as he can. He is the type of guy every successful team must have in order to maintain success over the long haul and his ability to be in the bullpen one day and the starter the next will continue to be an asset as long as he stays healthy. No team wants to have a spot starter step in last minute, but when the situation arises, it is sure nice to have a guy that can get the job done.

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