The Red Sox traded veteran reliever Matt Barnes on Jan. 30, bringing his tenure in Boston to an end after nine seasons, which included a World Series win in 2018.
Barnes was sent to the Miami Marlins in a swap of veteran relievers, and on Tuesday, he officially closed the chapter with an Instagram post thanking Red Sox Nation for their support.
“When Boston took a chance on me, I was just a 21 year old kid from Connecticut,” Barnes wrote. “If someone would have told me back in 2011 that I would be lucky enough to play for the same organization for the next 12 years, I don’t think I would’ve believed them.
If you’ve been apart of this ride in any way – a teammate, a friend, a coach, a fan – I just want to thank you. Thank you for coming along to celebrate the highs and for riding the wave with me when I went through the lows. I will be forever grateful for this game and everything this city has given me and my family. Boston, you’ll always be a second home. But now it’s time for an exciting new chapter in Miami.”
Barnes called his departure from Boston “bittersweet” after the fact, but recognizes his arrival to Miami presents a great opportunity. The 32-year-old dealt with a shoulder injury that limited him to just 39 2/3 innings in 2022, marking his fewest in a 162-game season since 2015. Just one season after his first-career All-Star appearance, Barnes recorded a 4.31 ERA, which was the second-highest of his career.
Barnes ended his Red Sox career with a 4.07 ERA across 429 appearances, striking out 556 batters and earning 47 saves.
