The bullpen has been godawful this year, no question about it. More good arms will need to be brought in.
But there are some pieces already here who might be able to help next season, though almost every single one of them has potential issues and question marks.
Uehara: overall, pitched well until he broke his hand. He is old and coming back from an injury, so those are real concerns. He has a contract for next year, and will most likely start the season as the closer, depending who the team brings in from the outside.
Tazawa: Has been a very solid setup man for years, but was terrible in the second half this year and then shut down. Hopefully the suckage was just temporary due to overuse, and he will bounce back strong next year, but there are concerns about him too. Have all the pitches over the years eroded his effectiveness?
Barnes: After pitching poorly in relief, then converting to starter in the minors and starting a couple of games in the majors, then going back down to AAA, Barnes came back up the majors in September as a reliever. Since he came back, he's pitched 7 straight scoreless appearances: 8 innings, 6 K and 1 BB.
Has he figured things out, or is it just a small-sample September blip? In yesterday's Sox notebook, Julian Benbow wrote:
"The clearest reason for his string of six straight scoreless appearances has been the way he’s overmatched hitters on the first pitch.
“I think the bottom line is Strike 1 with Matt Barnes,” Lovullo said. “If he gets a strike on you, with that velocity and at that angle, it can be very challenging.
Barnes has thrown first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 26 batters he’s faced. He’s shaken off the common issues that plagued him in his previous major league stints this season, giving up just one walk while striking out six in seven innings of work.
“He’s throwing downhill fastballs, leveraging the ball, hitting the zone,” Lovullo said."
Robbie Ross: Anointed The Closer in September after pretty much everyone else had a shot, he's done okay. The 26-year-old lefty has 6 saves so far.
For the season, he's thrown 59.2 innings, 53 K to 20 walks. After a rough start to the year, in his last 42.2 IP, he has been good, allowing 16 ER, with 41 Ks to 14 walks.
Per Sox Prospects, he's got an option left, but he should have a role in the big league bullpen next year anyway. He's not a guy you'd want as a closer ideally, but as a 7th inning lefty who can pitch an inning or two, he should be solid.
Noe Ramirez: "No Way" has been a solid minor league reliever for a few years now. He turns 26 in December. Has options remaining.
From yesterday's Sox Notebook: "The way Noe Ramirez has handled some of the AL’s most imposing sluggers — from Alex Rodriguez and Mike Trout to Manny Machado and Evan Longoria — Lovullo said he can see a role for the 25-year-old righthander in the majors.
“He is very tough, especially tough on righthanded hitters, and you can see he’s been getting that workload against some pretty impressive righthanded hitters and he’s more than held his own,” Lovullo said. “That’s not to say he can’t go up there and throw pitches to lefthanded hitters as well. So we kind of fine-focused his role and he’s done a great job with that.”
His first three major league appearances did not go well, all back in July. He allowed 9 runs in 5 innings in those three appearances, but since coming back to the majors in September, he's thrown 8 IP over 13 appearances, with 11 Ks and 3 walks.
Layne: the LOOGY. For his career, he has thrown 90.2 innings in the majors, with a 3.08 ERA. he has held lefties to a .454 OPS in his career, but righties have hit 310/404/479 against him. He can be quite solid as a lefty-only guy, but shouldn't be facing many righties. This year he has faced 101 righties and 100 lefties, a ratio that does not put him in a position to succeed. Could make a good L-R tandem with Noe Ramirez.
Hill: The ultimate out of nowhere September Surprise. Has moved from the Independent League to setting 3-start records in the majors. Will be a free agent after the season, so there is a question if he will even be back. Has showed great stuff in his 23 innings, but remains old and injury prone. Will some other team offer him a better chance to start, and/or more money? It would be great if the Sox could keep him, as when he is healthy, he can look unhittable.
Wright: He was pitching well as a starter (last 3 starts: 20 IP, 21 K, 9 BB, 5 ER.) Then he had the freak accident concussion and hasn't pitched since August 11. It's really too bad that we haven't been able to see more of him. He finishes this year with 72.2 IP and a 4.09 ERA. He makes the minimum and isn't even arb eligible till 2018, so hopefully he bounces back and becomes a solid long reliever who can eat multiple innings and give you a spot start when needed. Sox Prospects shows him with one option year left, but that doesn't seem to count this season, so he might well be out of options.
Hembree: 26 years old now. Always been a hard thrower, but struggled with command. So far this year, he's pitched 23 innings in Boston, 3.52 ERA, 13 K, 6 walks. In AAA, he pitched 31 innings with a 2.27 ERA, 32 K and 10 BB. Maybe he is figuring it out a bit too? He makes the minimum and won't be arb eligible till 2018. Sox Prospects shows him with an option left.
Aro: 24-year-old hasn't done well in his first 7.2 innings in the majors, but was solid in 74 innings in Portland and Pawtucket. Two options left.
Sox Prospects writes "Future 6th/7th inning reliever profile. Throws strikes, workable fastball/slider combination. Needs to improve changeup, and consistency with slider. Lacks late inning ceiling, but high floor."
Should start next season in Pawtucket and ride the shuttle when needed.
Cook: has basically been one of the worst pitchers in baseball since he was acquired. Obviously still struggling with recovering from his arm surgery. He used to be really good, but is miles from that right now. Maybe he will pitch in winter ball and keep working on getting back to what he was. He apparently has an option year left?? so maybe he can pitch in Pawtucket next year.
Roman Mendez: Has only pitched one inning since being picked up, maybe he can be sent to Pawtucket if he is still with the club in the spring. He is out of options though.
Pat Light: power arm who moved up the system, but struggled once he got to AAA. Will be 25 next year, will be in the Pawsox bullpen to begin the year.
Escobar: 23-year-old lefty came on strong at the end of last year as a starter, then pitched as a reliever in winter ball, but then hurt his arm in spring training and had a bad year in the minors. Who knows if his arm is 100% again? Looked like he had some potential before the injury. Sox Prospects wrote (before his arm injury) "Middle to back-end starter potential. Three-pitch mix from the left side with average command and control of all pitches and ability to pitch to both sides of the plate. He has a floor of a solid left-handed bullpen arm, with a chance to stick as a starter if he continues to develop his secondary pitches and fastball command. Given his relative youth for his progression through the minors, he should continue to develop as a starter, but could fill a need out of the major league bullpen right now."
Ogando, Machi, Breslow: old, free agents, hopefully none will be back.
Brian Johnson, Owens, Joe Kelly: have been starters but could be considered for bullpen roles next year. Kelly says his arm doesn't work well with relief, and he pitched really well as a starter for a while after coming back from the minors, then got hurt, so his role for next year is just a huge question mark. Some people think Owens and/or Johnson would be most effective in the majors as relievers, but the Sox have kept them as starters so far.
Excellent Reliever X who is yet to be acquired from outside the organization, plus Koji, Taz, Ross, Wright, Hill and Layne might not be a bad basis for a bullpen for next year, with Barnes, Ramirez, Hembree and company on the Pawtucket shuttle to add options.
Two excellent arms added to the mix would be great, but seems unlikely that the Sox will give up the resources to bring in two relievers for big roles for next year. There will of course be the usual minor league flyers added to the mix in the offseason.
But there are some pieces already here who might be able to help next season, though almost every single one of them has potential issues and question marks.
Uehara: overall, pitched well until he broke his hand. He is old and coming back from an injury, so those are real concerns. He has a contract for next year, and will most likely start the season as the closer, depending who the team brings in from the outside.
Tazawa: Has been a very solid setup man for years, but was terrible in the second half this year and then shut down. Hopefully the suckage was just temporary due to overuse, and he will bounce back strong next year, but there are concerns about him too. Have all the pitches over the years eroded his effectiveness?
Barnes: After pitching poorly in relief, then converting to starter in the minors and starting a couple of games in the majors, then going back down to AAA, Barnes came back up the majors in September as a reliever. Since he came back, he's pitched 7 straight scoreless appearances: 8 innings, 6 K and 1 BB.
Has he figured things out, or is it just a small-sample September blip? In yesterday's Sox notebook, Julian Benbow wrote:
"The clearest reason for his string of six straight scoreless appearances has been the way he’s overmatched hitters on the first pitch.
“I think the bottom line is Strike 1 with Matt Barnes,” Lovullo said. “If he gets a strike on you, with that velocity and at that angle, it can be very challenging.
Barnes has thrown first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 26 batters he’s faced. He’s shaken off the common issues that plagued him in his previous major league stints this season, giving up just one walk while striking out six in seven innings of work.
“He’s throwing downhill fastballs, leveraging the ball, hitting the zone,” Lovullo said."
Robbie Ross: Anointed The Closer in September after pretty much everyone else had a shot, he's done okay. The 26-year-old lefty has 6 saves so far.
For the season, he's thrown 59.2 innings, 53 K to 20 walks. After a rough start to the year, in his last 42.2 IP, he has been good, allowing 16 ER, with 41 Ks to 14 walks.
Per Sox Prospects, he's got an option left, but he should have a role in the big league bullpen next year anyway. He's not a guy you'd want as a closer ideally, but as a 7th inning lefty who can pitch an inning or two, he should be solid.
Noe Ramirez: "No Way" has been a solid minor league reliever for a few years now. He turns 26 in December. Has options remaining.
From yesterday's Sox Notebook: "The way Noe Ramirez has handled some of the AL’s most imposing sluggers — from Alex Rodriguez and Mike Trout to Manny Machado and Evan Longoria — Lovullo said he can see a role for the 25-year-old righthander in the majors.
“He is very tough, especially tough on righthanded hitters, and you can see he’s been getting that workload against some pretty impressive righthanded hitters and he’s more than held his own,” Lovullo said. “That’s not to say he can’t go up there and throw pitches to lefthanded hitters as well. So we kind of fine-focused his role and he’s done a great job with that.”
His first three major league appearances did not go well, all back in July. He allowed 9 runs in 5 innings in those three appearances, but since coming back to the majors in September, he's thrown 8 IP over 13 appearances, with 11 Ks and 3 walks.
Layne: the LOOGY. For his career, he has thrown 90.2 innings in the majors, with a 3.08 ERA. he has held lefties to a .454 OPS in his career, but righties have hit 310/404/479 against him. He can be quite solid as a lefty-only guy, but shouldn't be facing many righties. This year he has faced 101 righties and 100 lefties, a ratio that does not put him in a position to succeed. Could make a good L-R tandem with Noe Ramirez.
Hill: The ultimate out of nowhere September Surprise. Has moved from the Independent League to setting 3-start records in the majors. Will be a free agent after the season, so there is a question if he will even be back. Has showed great stuff in his 23 innings, but remains old and injury prone. Will some other team offer him a better chance to start, and/or more money? It would be great if the Sox could keep him, as when he is healthy, he can look unhittable.
Wright: He was pitching well as a starter (last 3 starts: 20 IP, 21 K, 9 BB, 5 ER.) Then he had the freak accident concussion and hasn't pitched since August 11. It's really too bad that we haven't been able to see more of him. He finishes this year with 72.2 IP and a 4.09 ERA. He makes the minimum and isn't even arb eligible till 2018, so hopefully he bounces back and becomes a solid long reliever who can eat multiple innings and give you a spot start when needed. Sox Prospects shows him with one option year left, but that doesn't seem to count this season, so he might well be out of options.
Hembree: 26 years old now. Always been a hard thrower, but struggled with command. So far this year, he's pitched 23 innings in Boston, 3.52 ERA, 13 K, 6 walks. In AAA, he pitched 31 innings with a 2.27 ERA, 32 K and 10 BB. Maybe he is figuring it out a bit too? He makes the minimum and won't be arb eligible till 2018. Sox Prospects shows him with an option left.
Aro: 24-year-old hasn't done well in his first 7.2 innings in the majors, but was solid in 74 innings in Portland and Pawtucket. Two options left.
Sox Prospects writes "Future 6th/7th inning reliever profile. Throws strikes, workable fastball/slider combination. Needs to improve changeup, and consistency with slider. Lacks late inning ceiling, but high floor."
Should start next season in Pawtucket and ride the shuttle when needed.
Cook: has basically been one of the worst pitchers in baseball since he was acquired. Obviously still struggling with recovering from his arm surgery. He used to be really good, but is miles from that right now. Maybe he will pitch in winter ball and keep working on getting back to what he was. He apparently has an option year left?? so maybe he can pitch in Pawtucket next year.
Roman Mendez: Has only pitched one inning since being picked up, maybe he can be sent to Pawtucket if he is still with the club in the spring. He is out of options though.
Pat Light: power arm who moved up the system, but struggled once he got to AAA. Will be 25 next year, will be in the Pawsox bullpen to begin the year.
Escobar: 23-year-old lefty came on strong at the end of last year as a starter, then pitched as a reliever in winter ball, but then hurt his arm in spring training and had a bad year in the minors. Who knows if his arm is 100% again? Looked like he had some potential before the injury. Sox Prospects wrote (before his arm injury) "Middle to back-end starter potential. Three-pitch mix from the left side with average command and control of all pitches and ability to pitch to both sides of the plate. He has a floor of a solid left-handed bullpen arm, with a chance to stick as a starter if he continues to develop his secondary pitches and fastball command. Given his relative youth for his progression through the minors, he should continue to develop as a starter, but could fill a need out of the major league bullpen right now."
Ogando, Machi, Breslow: old, free agents, hopefully none will be back.
Brian Johnson, Owens, Joe Kelly: have been starters but could be considered for bullpen roles next year. Kelly says his arm doesn't work well with relief, and he pitched really well as a starter for a while after coming back from the minors, then got hurt, so his role for next year is just a huge question mark. Some people think Owens and/or Johnson would be most effective in the majors as relievers, but the Sox have kept them as starters so far.
Excellent Reliever X who is yet to be acquired from outside the organization, plus Koji, Taz, Ross, Wright, Hill and Layne might not be a bad basis for a bullpen for next year, with Barnes, Ramirez, Hembree and company on the Pawtucket shuttle to add options.
Two excellent arms added to the mix would be great, but seems unlikely that the Sox will give up the resources to bring in two relievers for big roles for next year. There will of course be the usual minor league flyers added to the mix in the offseason.
