Justin Masterson knows what he’s getting into.
Masterson is well aware of the pressure of playing in Boston. He was drafted by the Red Sox in 2006 and spent two seasons with the big league club before being shipped to the Cleveland Indians at the 2009 Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline. The right-hander isn’t fazed by the heightened expectations, though. Instead, he’s embracing the challenge of helping to turn around both his career and the Red Sox.
“If you do good, you wear it. If you don’t do well, you wear it. And you just go through life like that,” Masterson said this week on MLB Network. “I think that makes it a little easier when you go in there. Because it can chew up people and spit them out.
Masterson, who signed a one-year contract with Boston this offseason, is coming off a 2014 campaign in which he went 7-9 with a 5.88 ERA over 28 appearances (25 starts) split between Cleveland and the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a disappointing year by nearly every measure, but the 2013 All-Star is confident he can regain his previous form with the aid of a healthy offseason and some minor adjustments.
“I’ve learned so many things this past year that I think will make me great, and I’m just excited to get back out there,” Masterson said. “It’s not fun to play the game when you’re not doing well. It’s never fun to not do your job well.
“We implemented a lot of great things that I think will allow me to have success, so that’s my biggest thing. I think Boston’s put together a really good team through the free-agent market, and I think we’re going to do some great things. I’m just glad I can be a part of it.”
The Red Sox also added starting pitchers Wade Miley and Rick Porcello at last month’s MLB winter meetings. The team’s rotation seems set, with Masterson being a part of it, but the 29-year-old has heard the rumblings that he someday might transition into a relief role if he again falters as a starter. After all, he’s already had success out of the bullpen in his career.
“It’s always fun to think of. I guess in one sense we’ve done it well and have been able to do it. I’ve been able to do starting (too),” Masterson said. “I don’t know. There’s that other part of it that where I enjoy trying to be that workhorse, getting out there and giving you seven, eight, nine innings, trying to complete that game.
“It’s pretty fun. I mean, my own mind wrestles with it just because it’s an exciting thing to do. But I enjoy being a starter.”
The Red Sox are banking on Masterson to rebound in 2015. It sounds like the pitcher also is banking on himself.
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Thumbnail photo via USA TODAY Sports Images/Rick Osentoski
