Red Sox 25 in 25: Koji Uehara
The BoSox Injection staff’s preview of the Boston Red Sox 25-man roster continues with a look at pitcher Koji Uehara.
Koji Uehara has been one of the top relievers in the game for the past two years, after having a phenomenal freshman season with the Red Sox back in 2013. The 40-year pitcher suffered a season-ending injury on August 7 when a ball hit his right wrist. Before his injury, Uehara had been a decent closer for the Red Sox, recording 25 saves and only allowing 10 runs in 40.1 IP. However, the team now has a new closer on Craig Kimbrel and Uehara will move back to being a late-inning reliever.
Uehara had an effective year back in 2014, where he finished the season with a 64.1 IP, 26 saves and a 2.52 ERA. Even though he finished his season early in 2015, he was looking slightly better than the year before. His HR/9 went down from 1.40 to 0.67 and his batting average against also decreased significantly from .213 to .185. The only issue that the RHP had was that he was throwing less strikes than the previous years, which can be attributed to fatigue and age.
More from Red Sox News
- How realistic are the Boston Red Sox/Chris Sale trade rumors?
- Giants’ desperation post-Carlos Correa debacle highlights Red Sox’ lack of urgency
- Dave Dombrowski reunites with former Red Sox ace on Phillies
- 10 grievances against the Boston Red Sox in honor of Seinfeld holiday Festivus
- Red Sox risk repeating rookie mistake with Eric Hosmer release
The workload Uehara received back in 2013 when he pitched the most innings of his career, can be mentioned as an indicator of why his effectiveness went down. His age is also a factor since he will turn 41 next April. With Kimbrel now stepping in as the new closer, Uehara will see less action in the field and will no longer be considered a 60-70 IP type of pitcher. He will also receive some help from newcomer Carson Smith, who used to be the Mariners closer.
“We will look to fix Koji’s inning as often as possible and the fact that he’s so effective against lefthanders it’s not necessarily a matchup type of situation. It’s an inning for Koji,” John Farrel said back in December.
With Uehara being Kimbrel’s setup man, we can expect the Red Sox to be a competent team in late innings. The bullpen is now one of the strongest feats of this team and if Uehara can stay healthy, it is very likely that we’re going to see him more often than in 2015.
His splitter is still the best on the division and can be an important weapon to use when the Red Sox are fighting for a spot in the playoffs. Uehara’s role is different, but his importance is the same now that the Yankees have strengthened their already strong bullpen.
Uehara is the oldest player in the Red Sox roster and is entering in what maybe is his last season with the team. He will become a free agent next offseason and with the relievers’ market becoming more demanding and popular, he can find a team if he wants to.