Methodology:
I considered relievers the Red Sox acquired anytime between the 1999-2000 offseason and today. Because we are focused on the possibility of the Red Sox scoring big in the bargain bin, I only looked at relievers who could have reasonably been called under the radar or bargain bin acquisitions on the date they were acquired.
The next decision I had to make with this list was how to value these pitchers. I decided to only consider each pitcher’s value in the years under their initial contract with the Red Sox. That means if a pitcher re-signed with Boston after already establishing themselves as a success, the subsequent years were not taken into account on this list. I also decided to give more weight to short-term dominance than to long-term mediocrity since bargain bin relievers are generally signed to fill an immediate need and any pitcher signed this year would be no exception.
Finally, I decided to consider the context of their performance. In short, a reliever who was very good for Red Sox in 2004 was worth more than a dominant reliever was to the Red Sox in 2012. Now that we have our super scientific criteria, let’s start with number five.