Don’t hit the panic button just yet, Red Sox fans. Boston’s bullpen still is pretty darn good despite a couple of recent injuries.
The Red Sox traded starter Wade Miley to the Seattle Mariners this offseason in exchange for 26-year-old strikeout machine Carson Smith, but Smith will start the season on the disabled list with a strained right flexor muscle. Set-up man Koji Uehara also reported “general soreness” after just two spring training outings, which isn’t necessarily a great sign for the regular season.
Still, Boston has plenty of weapons to choose from, and Smith and Uehara’s ailments aren’t permanent. Here’s how things are looking in the bullpen for Opening Day and beyond.
What to like: Craig Kimbrel.
The Red Sox unloaded prospects Manuel Margot, Javier Guerra, Carlos Asuaje and Logan Allen to get one of Major League Baseball’s best closers, and that should go a long way. Kimbrel has averaged 45 saves per season over the last five years and has a career 1.63 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 14.5 strikeouts per nine innings. We don’t think we need to elaborate on how good that is.
Having a lights-out closer in Kimbrel will take the pressure off the rest of the bullpen and prevent overuse of the Red Sox’s other arms.
What not to like: The injuries.
Smith will be back, and Uehara doesn’t seem to be headed for the DL, but things still could be uncomfortable for the first month or so of the season. The Red Sox have seven games against the Toronto Blue Jays in April, and Junichi Tazawa, who you’d expect to see more often without Smith and with Uehara possibly limited, has an 11.25 ERA against them. That might stretch the bullpen thin for part of April.
Steven Wright likely will be the fifth starter, too, with Eduardo Rodriguez on the DL, so the Sox also are down one long reliever. But as long as no one in the bullpen misses extended time, Boston should be in good shape.
2016 expectations: When healthy, this actually is one of the best bullpens in baseball.
Boston could feel the strain of those injuries in April and maybe May, but it’s a long season, and the Red Sox bullpen will have plenty of time to be dominant. Once Smith, Uehara and Kimbrel are locked in place, Tazawa can get less use than he did in last season, which was shaky for him, and the rest of the ‘pen can be used as specialists. Honestly, the only issue once the Red Sox are at full strength is that they have to match up with the New York Yankees, who have hands-down the best bullpen in the league, 19 times this season.
Minor league prospects to watch: Pat Light.
The 25-year-old right-hander struggled in his first three years in the minors as a starter, but Light has enjoyed some success after moving to the bullpen full-time in 2015. Light had a 2.43 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and .168 batting average against in Double-A Portland before getting a little roughed up in Triple-A Pawtucket. He has to work on his command and his tendency to tip pitches, but with a mid-90s fastball that can hit triple digits, Light is worth keeping an eye on.
Thumbnail photo via Jonathan Dyer/USA TODAY Sports Images
