Red Sox continue to ball on a budget by claiming Chris Mazza from Mets
The Boston Red Sox continue to build their 2020 roster on a tight budget as they claimed reliever Chris Mazza off waivers from the Mets today.
Here we are friends, slowly working our way through what feels like another painful offseason. The Red Sox delivered a holiday present, sort of, this afternoon when the news broke that they had claimed Chris Mazza off waivers from the Mets. Adding another arm to the bullpen while keeping as much money in the bank as possible.
Mazza was drafted by the Twins in 2011 before being released in 2015. He would then spend time in the Marlins and Mariners organizations before being selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Mets in 2018.
He would finally make his Major League debut in 2019, appearing in nine games and finishing 1-1 with a 5.51 ERA. Not the most stellar resume but with the checkbook on lockdown, these are the moves we’ll keep seeing from Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox.
It’s hard to be surprised with the move as we all know of the goal to keep the budget as close to that magical $208M line as possible. By claiming Mazza Bloom has achieved two goals with one signing. He not only adds another weapon to the bullpen but he does so by spending very little cash on the pitcher.
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As far as Mazza is concerned, he could be a strong complement to the rest of the Red Sox relief squad. He’s only 30-years-old and though he didn’t dazzle with the ERA in 2019, he has a chance to flourish with a good group around him. With the way that the bullpen performed their rendition of Jekyll & Hyde in 2019, having a fresh face in the squad couldn’t hurt.
A few things that have me very interested in what the righty may be capable of are his BB/K ratio and his K/9. Though his time with the Mets was short in 2019 he still posted an impressive 5/11 BB/K as well as a 6.1 K/9. Those glimmers of light give me some optimism that he can be a good addition to the roster.
Walks killed the Boston bullpen last season and were a major factor behind the inefficiency of the pitching staff. Right, when it felt like we’d have a batter out those pesky walks would begin to show their faces. If Mazza can get the walks under control while also maintaining his strikeout efforts, we may see a steal by Bloom play itself out.
Sox can be frugal, but shouldn't be cheap. dark. Next
There’s a lot of uncertainty ahead for the Red Sox and as the winter gets colder we’re only finding more questions than answers. Will Chris Mazza be a lights-out stunner out of the bullpen or just another arm? We honestly can’t begin to predict that as his sample size in the Majors is so small there isn’t a true trend to look at. One season in the bigs with poor results isn’t enough to formulate a true opinion.