Boston Red Sox Top-5 free agent reliever targets
Sep 24, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski (left) introduces Mike Hazen (right) as the team
One of the more difficult tasks facing Dave Dombrowski this offseason will be restocking a bullpen that ranked 13th in the American League with a 4.24 ERA. The most troubling part of this equation is that assembling a steady core of relievers has never been a specialty of the new Boston Red Sox president of baseball operations.
The Detroit Tigers, whose bullpen was assembled by Dombrowski before he departed the organization mid-season, were one of only two teams that finished with a worse collective ERA from their relievers. Detroit’s bullpen also allowed the highest batting average against (.271) and amassed the second-fewest strikeouts (395). Bullpen struggles are nothing new for Dombrowski’s teams, as his Tigers finished in the bottom-five in the league in every year since 2011.
The volatile nature of relievers can often make the process of putting together a bullpen akin to throwing darts. Their sporadic usage makes them more prone to both rust and fatigue, while also carrying a higher risk for injury. A reliever can come out of nowhere with a dominant season, only to crumble the next. There is a relatively small percentage of middle relievers that are consistently great every year, as the ones that accomplish that are typically promoted to the closer role and lavished with expensive contracts.
Clearly the front office has their work cut out for them piecing together a revamped Red Sox bullpen, but the free agent market includes some enticing options. On Tuesday we discussed which members of the bullpen the Red Sox should keep, but they will need reinforcements to replace the ones that won’t be sticking around. Let’s examine the top-5 relievers on the market that the team should consider signing.
Next: Tyler Clippard
Oct 18, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Tyler Clippard throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the 8th inning in game two of the NLCS at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 30
2015 Stats: 71.0 IP, 5-4, 2.92 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 8.1 K/9
Clippard has been one of the best setup men in baseball over the past seven seasons. After flaming out as a starter to begin his career, the Washington Nationals shifted him to the bullpen in 2009, where he has thrived.
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The two-time All-Star owns a career 2.67 ERA and 10.0 K/9 ratio as a reliever. While he has primarily served as a bridge to the 9th inning, Clippard has saved 53 games in his career, including 32 saves back in 2012. With age and injury concerns surrounding incumbent closer Koji Uehara, it would be wise for the Red Sox to bring in another reliever that can be trusted to take the ball at the end of the game.
Clippard started the year as the closer for the Oakland Athletics, but was dealt to the New York Mets before the deadline. He picked up a couple of saves following his move back to the NL East, but wasn’t the primary closer for his new team. His tenure in New York started out in dominant fashion, as he surrendered only a single run through his first 19.2 innings. Clippard stumbled a bit down the stretch, coughing up multiple runs on three separate occasions in September and producing a 6.59 ERA for the month.
Those struggles have followed Clippard into the postseason, where he has given up 3 runs in 5.1 innings during the Mets run to the World Series. Prior to this year he had only allowed 1 run over 6 career postseason innings and still owns a career 3.18 ERA in the playoffs, so there is little doubt that he’s capable of delivering on the big stage.
The late season fade may reduce the price tag for Clippard this winter, but banking on his larger sample of career accomplishments should prove to be a wise investment.
Next: Darren O'Day
Age: 33
2015 Stats: 65.1 IP, 6-2, 1.52 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 11.3 K/9
O’Day is coming off of a year in which he made his first All-Star appearance, while posting a career best ERA that ranked third in the league among pitchers with a minimum of 40 innings pitched. He also ranked 7th in the league in both strikeouts and WHIP.
Casting aside an injury-plagued 2011 season in which he only pitched 16.2 innings, O’Day has delivered an ERA no higher than 2.28 in every season since 2009. He owns a career 2.31 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP and 8.7 K/9. 2015 was his best season to date, as his strike ratio increased to 11.3 to go along with a 5.86 K/BB ratio. Both represent career-bests, as does his staggering 274 ERA+.
The one blip on his resume would be his underwhelming postseason results, where he owns a career 5.02 ERA, albeit in a small sample size of only 14.2 innings. Most recently he was roughed up for 4 runs in 2.2 innings during the 2014 playoffs, but he was also flawless through 7 shutout innings in 2012.
Over the past four seasons in the Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen, O’Day owns a 1.91 ERA, while averaging over 65 innings per season. He has been durable and reliable in recent years, while proving that he can cut it in the AL East. As an added bonus, stealing him away from Baltimore would also weaken a division rival.
Next: Joakim Soria
Sep 26, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Joakim Soria (38) throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 31
2015 Stats: 67.2 innings, 3-1, 2.53 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 8.5 K/9
Dombrowski has a history with Soria, having acquired him during his tenure as general manager of the Tigers last year. While Soria was a disappointment during his brief run to finish the 2014 season, allowing 6 runs in 11.2 innings for Detroit, he still managed to win the closer role this year when Joe Nathan went down with a season-ending injury.
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The former Kansas City Royals closer notched another 24 saves this year to surpass the 200 career save mark, which makes him another potential option to provide Uehara insurance for the Red Sox. Soria was shipped to the Pittsburgh Pirates in July when the Tigers purged themselves of any valuable impending free agents on their roster, finishing the season with a 2.03 ERA and 9.5 K/9 through 26.2 innings in a Pirates uniform.
Soria was one of the game’s most dominant relievers early in his career, making two All-Star appearances during his time in Kansas City and garnering some votes for the Cy Young and MVP awards in 2010. He missed the entire 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery before signing a 2-year, $8 million deal with the Texas Rangers, who would later trade him to Detroit.
The first two seasons following his return from surgery were a far cry from what he produced in the first four years of his career, but in 2015 Soria seemed to recapture his old form. He may be in search of a team with a more immediate path to the closer role, but with Uehara nearing the end of the line, Soria may be inclined to consider the Red Sox.
Next: Antonio Bastardo
Aug 30, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Antonio Bastardo (59) pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the eighth inning at PNC Park. Colorado won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 30
2015 Stats: 57.1 innings, 4-1, 2.98 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 10.0 K/9
It would behoove the Red Sox to include a lefty for consideration, considering Robbie Ross is the only left-handed reliever on the roster that seems to be a near lock to make the team next season. Bastardo is the best lefty reliever on the free agent market and he’s the type of power pitcher that Dombrowski covets, with a career 11.0 K/9 rate.
Bastardo’s career has fluctuated with inconsistency, but he’s posted a sub-3.00 ERA in three of the past five seasons and owns a respectable 3.28 ERA since 2011. His tantalizing strikeout ratio puts him annually among the league’s elite, but he tends to get himself into trouble by allowing too many free passes. Bastardo walked 26 batters this season and has a career rate of 4.3 BB/9.
His career splits show that Bastardo has been dominant against left-handed hitters, limiting lefties to a .178 average. However, he’s more than merely a lefty specialist, having held right-handed hitters to a .211 average.
Bastardo was once considered the closer of the future for the Philadelphia Phillies, but that never quite panned out, as he topped out with a career-high of 8 saves in 2011 and never reclaimed the role on a permanent basis after that. He may not be a feasible option to eventually replace Uehara in the 9th inning, but he can certainly help a Red Sox team in need of left-handed support in the middle innings.
Next: Joaquin Benoit
Apr 15, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit pitches during the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 38
2015 Stats: 65.1 innings, 6-5, 2.34 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 8.7 K/9
It remains to be seen if Benoit will even be available, since the San Diego Padres hold an $8 million team option on his contract for 2016. The Padres went all in this year, but after that backfired they may be forced to take a step back, in which case they may not be compelled to pay such a lofty price for a setup man.
If he does hit the open market, expect the Red Sox to take a long look at the veteran reliever. Dombrowski knows him well from the three seasons Benoit spent in Detroit from 2011-2013, so he knows he’s capable of thriving in the AL.
Benoit began his career as an ineffective starter, bouncing back and forth between the bullpen and rotation in parts of five seasons with the Texas Rangers before converting to a full-time reliever in 2006. He missed the entire 2009 season due to injury, but bounced back stronger than ever the following year after joining the Tampa Bay Rays. His strikeout rate jumped dramatically in the ensuing post-surgery years and he has posted a 2.35 ERA over the last six seasons.
His strikeout and walk rates regressed toward his career averages this season, which may be a sign that age is catching up to the 14-year veteran. However, it’s not as if the Red Sox have been shy about relying on aging relievers and he could be even more appealing if he’s willing to sign a one-year deal.