Why Red Sox Didn’t Address Inconsistent Bullpen At MLB Trade Deadline

The Red Sox made several moves before Tuesday’s Major League Baseball trade deadline.

Noticeably absent from their activity: Addressing the bullpen, arguably Boston’s most glaring shortcoming as the club pushes for an American League wild card spot.

So, why didn’t the Red Sox add a reliever (or two, or three)?

Simply put, the opportunity didn’t present itself.

“We spent a lot of time — today, yesterday, the past week, really the past number of months — looking at many different opportunities. Names you might think of (and) names you wouldn’t,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told reporters Tuesday night after the deadline. “Ultimately, it still had to be a deal that made sense. We pursued a lot of different options. And that’s not to say we don’t have faith in and see upside in the guys who are here. I think even some of the guys who haven’t yet shown that they can do it at the major league level but that we think have the talent to do it, and some guys who are in Triple-A, as well. We do think we have talent here to have more consistent results in the ‘pen than we’ve had, and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to do that.”

The Red Sox actually subtracted a piece from their bullpen Monday, trading left-handed reliever Jake Diekman to the Chicago White Sox for catcher Reese McGuire.

Diekman, who signed a two-year contract over the offseason, was inconsistent with Boston, posting a 4.23 ERA, a 4.97 FIP and a 1.49 WHIP in 44 appearances (38 1/3 innings). The Red Sox thus capitalized on the White Sox’s interest to shed some salary and add a catcher after trading veteran backstop Christian Vázquez to the Houston Astros for two prospects.

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“We always want to look to add,” Bloom said of the bullpen. “I don’t think there’s anybody that’s in the hunt at this point in the year that isn’t looking to add to their bullpen. You just want to make sure you’re doing things that make sense. And so we pursued a lot of different avenues and ultimately lined up on the deals that we did, and we have a lot of faith in the guys who are here.”

The Red Sox’s bullpen entered Wednesday ranked 25th in ERA (4.22), 16th in FIP (3.94) and 18th in WHIP (1.31). The unit hasn’t been terrible, per se, but it’s been inconsistent for most of the 2022 season and stands out as an obvious flaw as Boston fights for a playoff berth.