Let’s say that again, just to make sure it sinks in: Alfredo Aceves is the Opening Day closer for the Boston Red Sox. This is a real thing that’s happening.
Daniel Bard is staying in the rotation, Mark Melancon is going to be the set-up man and Vicente Padilla will continue to hone his Eephus pitch wherever there’s room for him. Aceves is the guy.
With one fell swoop, Bobby Valentine put out multiple fires smoldering beneath the surface and erased a handful of question marks swirling around the team.
Aceves was reportedly unhappy that he wasn’t getting a chance to start. Daniel Bard’s future was in limbo with talk of will-he-or-won’t-he go back to the ‘pen. Now, neither has to worry about their role on the team.
Aceves will get his chance to appear on the big stage for the Sox, having a direct impact as a closer that he would only get once every five days as a starter. He’ll be playing with a chip on his shoulder, too, after getting passed over for a rotation gig.
His 5.21 ERA through the spring might be cause for concern, but there’s another number that jumps out: 17. That’s the number of batters Aceves struck out in his 19 innings of work this spring, good for a 8.05 K/9 ratio. That’s a decent number for a closer, but more importantly, it’s a bump up from his 6.3 K/9 for the Sox in 2011. It could be a sign that he’ll be able to make a few more bats miss this season — an important skillset that a closer needs to work himself out of jams.
Aceves’ spring as a starter will also work in his favor because it means he’s been working more on secondary pitches and on stretching his arm out in anticipation of a bigger workload. That’s a path that has paid dividends for past closers around the league, including Jonathan Papelbon and Rangers ex-closer Neftali Feliz.
The biggest positive to take from this decision, however, is that a decision was made, period. With the closer situation settled, Bard doesn’t need to look over his shoulder if he struggles out of the game. At the same time, Aceves won’t need to sulk in the bullpen while wishing he could pitch every fifth day.
Besides, Aceves is 24-3 in his four-year MLB career. Who better to have at the end of the game than a pitcher who doesn’t know how to lose?
