With the market for Craig Kimbrel beginning to thin out, Richard Justice of MLB.com seems to think that the 30-year-old closer will be remaining with the Red Sox for the foreseeable future.
That being said, other teams are surely in the mix. The Braves and Phillies headline a multitude of teams who have kicked the tires on the flamethrower from Huntsville, Alabama.
Anytime one of your free agents hits the open market, there is always that possibility that they’ll take their talents elsewhere. Whether by terms of the contract, or general interest, sometimes the guy just doesn’t want to return to the club they had spent the prior season with.
But Craig Kimbrel has become an interesting case. He was rumored to be a “pipe-dream” re-signing just a month ago when his agent proclaimed him as the “best closer of all-time,” and he should be paid accordingly. However, when teams look at a guy who had an ERA of 4.57 in the second half last year, and 5.91 in the playoffs––combined with him being on the wrong side of 30 and looking for the highest contract in the history of his position, they tend to shy away.
No one is saying he isn’t a premier closer at the MLB level anymore, but it’s not farfetched to say he isn’t as dominant as he was in previous years.
Hypothetically, say Kimbrel doesn’t return to Boston in 2019, you’re looking at a bullpen that has lost its two top free agent arms and missed out on David Robertson. Adam Ottavino is the top arm on the market for relievers, but there is no statistical proof that he can handle closing––especially in Boston’s bright lights.
So that’s where a new question appears in regards to the Red Sox bullpen: Could they adopt a bullpen by committee? In theory, yes. They have many guys who could fill that void if it comes to that.
With the return of Carson Smith on a minor league contract, the Red Sox are giving him an opportunity to prove his worth to them once again with an invite to Spring Training. Smith has pitched in 50 save situations in his career, and has been pretty good. Posting a career ERA of 2.40 and 10.4 K/9 in 48.2 innings pitched in a save situation, the guy has shown he can do it in the past. However, most of those numbers are from his time spent in Seattle, which was over three years ago.
On top of Carson Smith, the Red Sox do have Matt Barnes, who Dave Dombrowski and Alex Cora have said they have confidence in as a closer if it comes to that. Barnes has improved every year since he got his first real opportunity in 2015. The latest of his improvements led to a 3.65 ERA in 62 appearances, and a 0.87 ERA in his 11 outings in October. He showed that when the lights shine the brightest, he has the grit and the means to perform––which was surely a question mark going into the 2018 season.
Another candidate for potential closing opportunities is Tyler Thornburg. The Red Sox have been waiting for the Thornburg they acquired for Travis Shaw for two seasons now. After missing 2017 with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, he returned to the team in July of 2018. While his numbers weren’t impressive––a 5.63 ERA with a 6.04 FIP in 24 innings––they can be a bit misleading. One can expect the guy to have a hard time returning to form right away after missing a season and a half, thus leading to him being shut down in September.
But he will be having his first normal offseason since the Red Sox traded for him, and he was one of the more effective relievers in baseball in 2016 with Milwaukee. The sky is the limit for him, and he has the ability to work multiple innings, which the modern-day closer seems to be trending towards.
Also, who could forget about the heroics of Ryan Brasier last season? He seemed to be a “cup of coffee” call-up in July. But the man continued to dominate each and every time he took to the mound. Both home, and on the road, Brasier was just what the doctor ordered. Also, remember his epic spat with Gary Sanchez in Game 2 of the ALDS? Told him to get back in the box and then proceeded to pump 97 MPH past him for strike three on the next pitch.
While Brasier has never been awarded a save in his MLB career, he still is a potential candidate if the Red Sox decide to go with a closer by committee.
Then there’s always the possibility of calling up the closer for next season in one of Travis Lakins or Durbin Feltman. Lakins is more Major League-ready, since he finished 2018 in AAA, while Feltman was stuck down in Single-A ball. It seems unlikely that either of them will be on the major league roster when the team opens up the season in Seattle, but it shouldn’t be ignored that they very well could be up with the big boys by midseason––and certainly will by September.
Other guys such as Colten Brewer, Brandon Workman, and even Bobby Poyner could also be given the ninth inning if that matchup is in their favor. The latter being if the due-up hitters featured multiple lefties. Point being, the Red Sox have plenty of options to use in the ninth inning if they are unable to re-sign Kimbrel.
Even if they sign Adam Ottavino, that doesn’t mean this method couldn’t be adopted. At the end of the day, two or three guys combining to save 50-60 games could be a lot more valuable than one guy saving 45.
