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Red Sox free agency: Looking at potential bullpen options

By Rick McNair

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Joe Kelly #56 of the Boston Red Sox delivers the pitch during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Joe Kelly #56 of the Boston Red Sox delivers the pitch during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 27: Closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox pumps his fist after the last out of the ninth inning to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-6 in Game Four of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 27: Closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox pumps his fist after the last out of the ninth inning to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-6 in Game Four of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

Just what is available for the Boston Red Sox for free agent relief pitching? The list is long and is a smorgasbord of various talent levels.  Here are just a few.

Bullpens in baseball have a curious and frustrating way of being inconsistent even when they are good and even great bullpens. In 2018, the Boston Red Sox did nothing to resolve what was perceived as a glaring weakness and subsequently, the bullpen became a key figure in postseason success and not a failure.

The Red Sox closer, Craig Kimbrel, and the enigmatic Joe Kelly are both available as free agents, but the free agent path goes both from and to Boston. Just who could the Red Sox take a long look at? In this segment I will skip over the most pronounced issue of a closer since that will most certainly continue to be hot stove league fodder until Kimbrel is re-signed, a replacement found, or the Red Sox go internal.

The following is an interesting list – at least to me – of pitchers who have made their baseball life experience taking that long stroll into tranquility or fire. What is the verdict on each?

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