Red Sox Spring Training: Battle for bullpen spots heating up
By Sean Penney
The Boston Red Sox have a couple of spots to fill in their bullpen
The Boston Red Sox have made great strides in upgrading a bullpen that was among the worst in baseball last season but they still need to put the finishing touches on finalizing the group they intend to take with them to Opening Day next week.
Boston is expected to stack their roster with 14 pitchers, leaving nine relievers to join the five-man rotation. Seven relievers are virtual locks to open the season on the major league roster, provided that their health remains intact.
Matt Barnes and Adam Ottavino will handle the late-inning work. Manager Alex Cora has been hesitant to anoint a closer but both of these right-handers will be utilized in high-leverage situations regardless of their official title.
Hirokazu Sawamura has shown shaky command with seven walks in 2 1/3 innings this spring. Adapting to his first taste of the big leagues since his arrival from Japan will require an adjustment period. The Red Sox will ease him in with lower-leverage opportunities early in the season but his upside and contract warrant giving him a roster spot.
Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor are the primary lefties in the bullpen. They have each shown flashes of dominance at the major league level but they were severely limited by COVID-19 last season. Strong training camps from the southpaws prove the virus is behind them and they are ready to get back on track.
His status as a Rule 5 draft pick meant Garrett Whitlock was likely to break camp with the team anyway but a dazzling spring performance has cemented his spot. Whitlock has allowed only one earned run in nine innings while striking out a dozen batters without a walk. He’ll join free-agent addition Matt Andriese, who owns a solid 2.70 ERA this spring, as the long relievers in the bullpen.
That leaves two open spots for relief pitchers on the 26-man active roster that need to be identified by Opening Day.
Ryan Brasier is expected to begin the season on the injured list after missing time in camp with a broken finger. He should eventually factor into this bullpen but we’ll exclude him from the mix of contenders for Opening Day.
Marcus Walden had a solid track record prior to last year when he imploded with a 9.45 ERA in 15 relief appearances. He’s only pitched 1 1/3 innings over two appearances so far this spring, indicating he’s not quite ready. Walden will likely begin the season in Triple-A but could factor in later this year.
Let’s assess the status of the other relievers remaining in the team’s major league camp.