The Boston Red Sox discovered a nice workaround to their bullpen issues. His name’s Steven Wright.
Wright baffled the New York Yankees for eight innings Wednesday as the Red Sox rebounded from a porous relief effort in Tuesday’s series opener to lock down a 2-1 win at Yankee Stadium. While it’s unlikely Wright will be asked to fill a spot in Boston’s Opening Day rotation next season, the knuckleballer still deserves attention as the Red Sox evaluate their pitching options for 2016.
The Red Sox ideally will pull enough strings this offseason that Wright’s services won’t be needed at the major league level to begin 2016, unless, of course, the knuckleballer parlays his current two-start stretch of excellence into something bigger over the final two months and forces his way into the conversation. If Wright is part of the Red Sox’s rotation, it’ll signify that Boston didn’t do enough over the winter to improve the unit. Similar conclusions could be drawn with regard to the bullpen.
That’s not a knock on Wright, who, unlike many others on the Red Sox, has gone above and beyond the call of duty this season. He’s a fine pitcher — a very valuable one — who probably could hold down a consistent role, either in the rotation or in the bullpen, on a second-division team. The reality is you shoot higher when constructing a roster for a club with one of the highest payrolls in Major League Baseball. Wright is someone you call on in a pinch when Plan A fails, like it has this season for Boston.
That said, one shouldn’t dismiss Wright. Not by a long shot. The Red Sox have a trio of stud left-handers — Eduardo Rodriguez, Henry Owens and Brian Johnson (when healthy) — who figure to capture everyone’s attention down the stretch, for one reason or another, and enough resources (prospects and financial means) to be active in the starting pitching market this offseason, making Wright seem like a space saver in a lost campaign. But the 30-year-old is far more than that. He’s a very important piece from an organizational standpoint. And he reminded everyone of that Wednesday night with a career-best performance in the Bronx against a red-hot Yankees offense.
“Outstanding effort,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “He had the feel for his knuckleball much earlier (Wednesday) than he did six days ago. … He kept guys off stride, obviously, with some variation to the speed to the knuckleball. But he threw a number of them (Wednesday) here with good violence to them and a lot of strikes with it.”
Wright struck out a career-high nine batters over a career-high eight innings. He allowed only one run — a solo homer to Carlos Beltran in the seventh inning — on four hits and two walks. His knuckleball was absolutely filthy, suggesting his recent work with former Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield is paying off.
“It is (the best I’ve seen him),” Farrell said. “He was good his last time out, don’t want to take that away from him. But given this lineup and this ballpark, obviously a short porch in right (field), Beltran gets the one knuckleball that just stays up a little bit, but he was outstanding from start to finish.”
The Red Sox’s offseason revolves around the rotation and building the best five-man unit possible. It’s inevitable that every team will need more than five starters over the course of a 162-game season, though, and that’s where Wright has tremendous value for the Red Sox, especially when one considers his ability to transition into a relief role with ease. He’s the Brock Holt of pitchers, in a sense.
Wright entered 2015 as Boston’s “No. 6 starter” — the next man up — and he’s taken advantage of his opportunities. His stretch run is unlikely to impact Boston’s offseason pursuit of pitching, one way or the other, but a good showing could go a long way toward proving he’s ready for a similar role in 2016.
Thumbnail photo via Noah K. Murray/USA TODAY Sports Images
