Boston Red Sox 2019 Report Cards: Reliever Matt Barnes

BoSox Injection’s 2019 player report cards continue with right-handed reliever Matt Barnes. Barnes was one of the Red Sox key relievers this season.

Heading into the 2019 season, the bullpen was a major question mark for the Boston Red Sox and Matt Barnes was expected to be the best of the group.

He pitched well, but Brandon Workman had a surprisingly dominant season and was the best reliever on the team. Barnes finished with a 3.78 ERA, 3.25 FIP, and a 2.93 xFIP. His strikeout numbers continued to soar, as he struck out 15.39 per 9 innings.

However, his walk rate, which was already high, rose again to 5.32 per 9 innings. While some of this can definitely be attributed to how much he was asked to do early in the year, it is a bit concerning.

While his ERA dropped in the second half, he actually walked more batters and struck out fewer which is definitely worrying. Overall, it was a solid year, but not quite as dominant as most were hoping.

Looking deeper into the numbers, there should not be a ton of concern with Barnes. His hard contact rate rose a little bit but not a significant amount. The only thing alarming was his big rise in HR/FB%, jumping from 11.4% to 19.5%. However, his fly ball rate actually dropped, which means this may have just been some bad luck due to pitching at Fenway Park. This could also possibly be due to the altered baseballs.

Some much-needed rest will take place this offseason and missing the playoffs could be a blessing in disguise for someone like Barnes.

Grade

I believe Barnes deserves a B for this season. He was not dominant, but he was solid. While he may have been a little worse than expected, he gave the Red Sox a solid late-inning arm, much like he did in 2018.

Control issues continued to haunt him a bit but overuse may have contributed to this. With the Red Sox starters struggling this season the bullpen was asked to work a lot more than usual which resulted in many guys running on fumes.

Future Outlook

As for next season, Barnes is a lock for a roster spot and will have a role in high leverage situations. While it seems more likely that Workman or a free agent will close, Barnes figures to have a big role next season. He is under control for two more seasons. Hopefully, the starters will be more consistent next year which allows Barnes to not have to throw as much. Having a more concise plan to open the season should help too with knowing a definitive closer.