Is Burke Badenhop lost in the bullpen shuffle?

Burke Badenhop will be missed.

The Red Sox have apparently chosen their bullpen course for 2015 and Badenhop appears on the outside looking in. Craig Breslow was brought back after a dismal 2014 and Heath Hembree, Matt Barnes and Brandon Workman all appear in the mix along with new hire Anthony Varvaro.

Badenhop was a proponent of self-evaluation using advance metrics to examine his pitching approach. Badenhop, somewhat of a financial guru, co-authored a book on finance. Always an honest and excellent interview he will certainly be missed by media and fans who got a wee bit more than the usual a player will toss out.

Badenhop was durable going 70.2 frames in 70 games with an excellent GB rate of 61% – a point that seems quite desirable to the current pitching model the team has embraced. Toss in a nice 2.29 ERA and allowing one home run during the season and you have a pitcher that has some positives, but digging deeper there are some negatives.

Start with a BABIP of .304. An FIP of 3.08 and an xFIP of 3.64 – both exceptionally high for a pitcher with a 2.29 ERA. For his career the ERA of 3.71 is more in line with career FIP of 3.56 and xFIP of 3.66. What Badenhop represents is a good relief option for someone. A reliever who can do a respectable seventh or eighth inning be it in Boston or elsewhere.

Wherever Badenhop lands I wish him well.