Red Sox Postseason: Five biggest questions heading into ALDS vs Yankees
By Sean Penney
Who can be trusted in the bullpen?
This is an area where the Red Sox have a clear disadvantage against the Yankees. Boston’s 3.72 bullpen ERA ranked only one spot behind the Yankees (3.38 ERA) in the American League but the gap is wider than it appears.
Boston’s bullpen is extremely top-heavy. Craig Kimbrel remains one of the elite closers in the game but the bridge to get to him is rickety. Who else can we trust?
Matt Barnes is the top setup man coming off a career year in which he posted a 3.65 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and an elite 14.01 K/9. However, he was brutal in the second half with a 6.41 ERA after the break. Those struggles may partially be explained by a hip issue that shut him down for a couple weeks in September. Barnes seemed to be back on track until he was blown up for three runs by the Baltimore Orioles.
The best reliever on the team has been Ryan Brasier, who posted a 1.60 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and 7.75 K/9 in 33 2/3 innings. He’s earned Cora’s trust but we also have to keep in mind this is a pitcher who was out of the majors for five years before making a triumphant return with the Red Sox this season. He’s also never pitched in the postseason so there will be a bit of uneasiness watching him hold a late lead no matter how great he’s been all year.
Those two represent the best options for the seventh and eighth innings. If the starting pitchers can’t go deep into games, forcing the bullpen into action earlier than that, there aren’t a lot of appealing options.
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Joe Kelly has had a frustrating Jekyll and Hyde season. He was lights out in April, May, and August but had an ERA north of 8.00 in the other three months. Which version will we see in October? Good Kelly or Bad Kelly? Maybe Jim Buchanan? Nobody knows.
Brandon Workman was having a good season until we got to September, a month in which he posted a 6.48 ERA. He coughed up three runs in his last appearance against the Yankees.
If Bobby Poyner makes the ALDS roster his role should be limited to being a lefty specialist. He’s holding left-handed hitters to a .143 average and .420 OPS. Unfortunately, the Yankees don’t have any left-handed threats outside of Didi Gregorius. Is Poyner worth carrying on the roster if he’ll only need to face one guy?
The good news is that with only four starters in the postseason rotation, Eduardo Rodriguez can help out of the bullpen. He has limited experience as a reliever but should theoretically thrive in the role since he’s usually very good until the opposing lineup turns over for the third time. Steven Wright can fill a similar role, one that he’s performed admirably in this year. Sure, watching Wright pitch in a tight game with a man on third can be nervewracking but adjusting from the upper 90’s heat of Sale’s fastball to the unpredictability of the knuckleball is equally uncomfortable for hitters.
If the Red Sox can get at least five innings from their starters followed by a couple of innings from Rodriguez/Wright then they can finish the game with Barnes/Brasier and Kimbrel. The ability to get multiple innings out of their converted starting pitchers helps negate the more questionable aspects of this bullpen.