Where, oh where has Koji Uehara’s splitter gone?
That’s the question the Boston Red Sox are trying to figure out as the veteran reliever continues to work toward a return to game action. Even Uehara realizes his split-finger fastball hasn’t been effective in recent outings.
“It’s still not there,” Uehara told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford on Sunday regarding the life on his splitter.
Uehara recently was removed from the Red Sox’s closer role after an extremely tumultuous six-appearance stretch in which he blew three saves, lost three games and saw his ERA soar from 1.27 to 2.64. A number of hanging splitters proved costly in that span.
“It’s more mental,” Uehara told Bradford. “Once I go up against the hitter, I might be able to get it back, but that’s something I’ll have to do in a game.”
Uehara hasn’t appeared in a game since Sept. 4, but he is available during the Red Sox’s current four-game series against the Kansas City Royals. The plan is for him to be used in lower-leverage situations before eventually returning to the closer’s role before the end of the season.
Uehara will become a free agent after this season. The Red Sox already have expressed interest in re-signing the 39-year-old, but other MLB clubs in search of a closer could come knocking.
“To me, it’s not too big a deal to become a closer. I just want to be healthy and finish out the season,” Uehara said.
“Right now, I don’t think about who I’m going to be playing for,” Uehara added. “I’m just going to do my best and see what happens in free agency.”
Uehara, who will turn 40 before Opening Day 2015, owns a 1.79 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 10.35 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 134 regular-season appearances spanning 135 2/3 innings the last two years with Boston.
