Red Sox: How does the bullpen look with the acquisition of Addison Reed?

BOSTON, MA – APRIL 28: Craig Kimbrel (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

The Late Inning Guys

The 9th inning has been and will continue to belong to Craig Kimbrel. He’s posted a 1.61 ERA in 43 appearances this year. He’s the primary reason the Red Sox bullpen ranks second in the AL in ERA. Kimbrel has been so dominant he’s mathematically making the whole bullpen better. He’s also been called on to pitch in the 8th inning six times this season, and in four of those appearances where he was asked to get a four or five out save.

Yes, Kimbrel has been dominant, but the baseball season is long and the last thing you want is your closer not pitching back-to-back games in October because he was getting five out saves in May.

Like I said before, this trade was 100 percent to shore up the setup problem facing the Red Sox. Boston has been throwing everything they can at the wall and seeing what sticks . Case in point, the only Red Sox reliever currently on the roster who hasn’t made an appearance in the 8th inning is Kyle Martin.

That means that the Red Sox have tried Austin Maddox, Heath Hembree, Robby Scott, Ben Taylor, Matt Barnes, Robbie Ross Jr, Joe Kelly, Doug Fister(!), Blaine Boyer, Fernando Abad, Brandon Workman, and Kimbrel in the 8th. That’s 12 pitchers.

Addison Reed immediately slides in as the everyday setup man. And Red Sox fans should be very happy about that. 

He’s more than capable of handling the pressure and intensity in the late innings, and has experience closing if Kimbrel is unavailable.

BOSTON, MA – MAY 13: Joe Kelly  (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)

High Leverage Innings

So we have the 8th and 9th innings covered, what about the 7th?

Assuming Joe Kelly returns from the DL soon, and is back to 100 percent, look for him to take the 7th inning most nights. Kelly’s been the second best reliever for the Red Sox this year (3-1 with a 1.49 ERA in 34.1 innings) and Farrell had started using him as 8th inning setup before his injury.

Farrell was not pitching in back-to-back games before the most recent injury, and I would expect that trend to continue as the season wears on. Who pitches when Kelly isn’t available?

I’m going to say Brandon Workman gets the first look in this role. This includes the next however many games before Kelly is back healthy. Workman’s comeback this year has been my favorite Red Sox story.

After he pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings of relief on the way to a World Series trophy in 2013, Workman struggled mightily in his next season, posting a 5.17 ERA in 87 innings for the 2014 Red Sox. Spring training 2015 saw Workman injure his elbow, and he’s been working his way back from Tommy John surgery since.

This season we’ve gotten glimpses of the healthy pitcher who was so dominant in the 2013 playoffs. He’s posted a 2.08 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched.

Only once this year has Workman given up more than one run, and that was in his third inning of work. Bringing him in for the 7th and then handing it off to Reed/Kimbrel should be the plan if/while Joey Kittens is unavailable.

Standard Middle Relief

Here’s where guys like Hembree, Boyer and Barnes should be thriving. Need a guy to get you through the 6th? Any one of these guys should be more than capable to get you one inning.

Barnes being moved to a lower pressure role might get the best out of him. He’s been like two different pitchers this season. He’s posted a 1.80 ERA in 23 games at Fenway (and that includes his four-run meltdown against Kansas City this week) but a 5.40 ERA in 25 games away.

Now I’m no sports psychologist, but you have to believe that some of those road struggles could be worked out if he’s pitching in a lower pressure role. Being in another team’s ballpark, surrounded by loud, opposing fans can definitely get to some guys. Keep Barnes pitching in the middle innings, and lighten up on his appearances on the road, and he will be a valuable piece for the Red Sox down the stretch.

Hembree (3.54 ERA in 48.1 innings) and Boyer (3.55 ERA in 25.1 innings) have both been pretty solid for the Red Sox this year. They’re both guys who can give you multiple innings when you need it and have won the team more games than they’ve lost. They’re exactly what you want out of your first option, middle relief types.

You can group Maddox in here as well, but I’m not expecting him to stick very long in Boston this time. I think Maddox is going to be sent down sooner rather than later, especially once Scott is available to be called back up.

The Specialists and Question Marks

So now we’re left with Fernando Abad and (assuming David Price returns to the rotation) Doug Fister.

Abad is currently the only lefty in the bullpen, so he defaults to your left-on-left option. I don’t think we’re going to see him used as the LOOGY much this year though. Maybe we’ll see it for a week or so, but I think Scott is going to be back in Boston. Abad has been good with those lefty-on-lefty matchups.

But Scott has been even better.

Scott going down was all about getting a fresh arm in Maddox and he’ll be back. Abad has been solid this season after coming over at the deadline in 2016. He’s posted a 2.16 ERA since he got a three inning save at Toronto on July 2nd. He’s the only lefty in the pen and has the ability to give you more than one inning.

And that leaves us with the question of Fister. When Price returns to the lineup, is there a spot for Fister?

Fister was playing for his job in his last appearance, going 7 2/3 innings against Cleveland while only giving up two earned runs. We know Dombrowski has a history with Fister, but can you really justify carrying a long reliever with a 6.27 ERA to fill in as your 6th starter?

A lot of this depends on the health of Brian Johnson in Pawtucket. He’s currently on the DL with a left shoulder issue. If he’s healthy and waiting in Triple-A, I can’t see the team carrying Fister much longer. Thanks for that one great start, but here’s your plane ticket. K, see ya, bye.

The last lingering question about the Red Sox bullpen is where does Carson Smith fit in this year? I know we’ve been hearing it over and over, but Smith was facing live batters at Fenway last week, and looks like he might finally be heading off on a rehab assignment.

Before his Tommy John surgery last year, Smith was one of the premier 8th inning guys in baseball. In 2015 with Seattle, he posted a 2.31 ERA in 70 innings, and was primarily an 8th or 9th inning weapon.

It’s silly to expect him to come back that dominant right away, but if he comes back anywhere close to his 2015 season he’ll be an excellent addition to an already pretty deep pen.

Next: Red Sox place Dustin Pedroia on 10-day disabled list

They say pitching wins championships. With the addition of Reed, this bullpen definitely looks like they can handle a deep postseason run.