Red Sox vs the AL East: relief pitching
Jul 20, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Dellin Betances (68) delivers a pitch during the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium. New York Yankees won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
5. New York Yankees
The Yankees have the most top-heavy bullpen of any name on this list as New York boasts three excellent late-inning relievers and then very little. Nobody is questioning the talent of young closer Dellin Betances (1.40 ERA, 13.5 K/9, 2.4 BB/9) or $40M man, former Red Sox lefty Andrew Miller (2.02 ERA, 14.9 K/9, 2.5 BB/9), or former Braves stalwart David Carpenter (3.54 ERA, 9.9 K/9, 2.4 BB/9). After those front three, things get a bit rough for the Yankees though.
From then on, the only names that will definitely make the team out of spring training are left-hander Justin Wilson (4.20 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 4.5 BB/9) and swingman Adam Warren (2.97 ERA, 8.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9). The Yankees could easily be looking at some motley collection of guys like Esmil Rogers and Chase Whitley, both of whom are unproven and have not been successful in brief major league stints. There’s no denying that the Yankees have three (four if you include Warren) great relievers but their lack of depth will likely come back to bite them.
Jul 25, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Jake McGee (57) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
4. Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay will enter the 2015 season with a relatively unproven group of relievers, complementing their young, inexperienced team as a whole. The Rays do have two elite relievers in closer Jake McGee, who broke out with a 1.89 ERA, 11.2 K/9, and 2.0 BB/9 last season, and setup man Brad Boxberger, who also had a nice breakout year in Tampa Bay last season with a 2.37 ERA, 14.5 K/9, and 2.8 BB/9. Those two should continue to dominate in 2015, but beyond their pair of stud relievers, things aren’t quite so rosy for the Rays.
Behind McGee and Boxberger, the Rays have a collection of once-elite talent in Grant Balfour (4.91 ERA, 5.9 BB/9 last season) and Ernesto Frieri (7.34 ERA last season) as well as a wealth of unproven youngsters, consisting of names like Kirby Yates (3.75 ERA, 10.5 K/9, 3.8 BB/9), Jeff Beliveau (2.63 ERA, 10.5 K/9, 2.6 BB/9), and Burch Smith (who didn’t pitch in the major leagues last season but had a 6.44 ERA with the Padres in 2013). If the older arms can have bounce back years while the youngsters take a step forward, this could be a solid group, but there’s just too many questions to place this bullpen any higher than fourth.
Aug 13, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brett Cecil (27) throws against the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
3. Toronto Blue Jays
Like the rest of the teams in the division, Toronto has a group of quality late-inning relievers with closer Brett Cecil (2.70 ERA, 12.8 K/9, 4.5 BB/9), Aaron Loup (3.15 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 3.9 BB/9), and rookie sensation Aaron Sanchez (1.09 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9). However, none of those names really jump out as being truly exceptional relievers; Cecil has great stuff but terrible control and, while Sanchez dominated last season, he might remove himself from their bullpen entirely and start for the Jays this season.
Plus, behind those front three, the Jays don’t have much, with some combination of swingman Todd Redmond (3.24 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 3.2 BB/9), Steve Delabar (who posted a 4.91 ERA last season and saw his BB/9 rise to 6.7), and Chad Jenkins (2.56 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9) likely to hold down the fort. The Blue Jays might not have the top-notch talent of the other teams on this list, but decent depth and a solid front three should give the team at least an average group.
Sep 16, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Koji Uehara (19) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the eighth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates shutout the Red Sox 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
2. Boston Red Sox
While the Red Sox might not have the elite talent of the other teams in the AL East, they make up for it with excellent depth and a solid core. Once again, the Red Sox will use Koji Uehara (2.52 ERA, 11.2 K/9, 1.1 BB/9) as their closer and will be hoping that he doesn’t wear down over the course of the season as he did a year ago. After Uehara, the Red Sox will boast solid setup men in Junichi Tazawa (2.86 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9), Edward Mujica (3.90 ERA, though he posted a 2.82 ERA after May), and offseason acquisition Anthony Varvaro (2.63 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9).
After those front four, however, the Red Sox will be relying on some bounce back seasons from veterans who have had success in the majors. Barring injuries, the next three men in the ‘pen are likely to be Craig Breslow (5.96 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 4.6 BB/9) and former Rangers Robbie Ross Jr. (6.20 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 while being shuttled between the bullpen and rotation last season) and Alexi Ogando (6.84 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 5.4 BB/9 in an injury-riddled year). I’m not optimistic about Breslow rebounding in 2015, but Ross and Ogando are good candidates to bounce back and if they do, the Red Sox should be looking at a solid collection of relievers.
Oct 5, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Zach Britton (53) pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the ninth inning in game three of the 2014 ALDS baseball playoff game at Comerica Park. The Orioles move on to the ALCS with 2-1 win over the Tigers. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
1. Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore’s formula for winning during their recent run of success has been an excellent lineup, excellent bullpen, and decent starting rotation. They certainly held true to that method last season, with the 6th best offense and 3rd best bullpen in the American League, and it appears that they’ll do the same in the upcoming season.
The Orioles have a phenomenal front four in their bullpen, with young closer Zach Britton (1.65 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 2.7 BB/9), Tommy Hunter (2.97 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 1.8 BB/9), Brian Matusz (3.48 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 3.0 BB/9), and Darren O’Day (1.70 ERA, 9.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9) working in the late innings. However, unlike the other teams in the AL East, the Orioles don’t have a steep drop off in talent after that front four. Wesley Wright (3.17 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9), Ryan Webb (3.83 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9), and T.J. McFarland (2.76 ERA, 5.2 K/9, 2.0 BB/9) are all effective relievers and should give the O’s an elite group this season. The Orioles have the best bullpen talent and depth of any team in this division and it should show in the coming year.