The Red Sox haven’t made many splash moves this offseason, with their presumed rotation looking awfully familiar to the one they rolled out through the majority of 2023.
Boston has plenty of fresh faces looking to contribute to a revitalized pitching staff, however.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow constructed a support staff with plenty of experience in maximizing the potential of big-league pitchers. It consists of director of pitching Justin Willard, pitching coach Andrew Bailey, bullpen coach Kevin Walker, game-planning coordinator Jason Varitek and analysts Dave Miller and Devin Rose. The group has been hard at work since being finalized, and has even taken on a new moniker, calling themselves the “Run Prevention Unit.”
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“We were texting each other on the group text, and next thing you know, the top of the text chain changes to ‘Run Prevention Unit’ because our business is to prevent runs, everything that we do, everything we talk about, the way that we try to help guys, it’s all about preventing runs and winning games,” Walker told Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “If we keep that theme of our group as being run preventers and the ‘Run Prevention Unit’ — hopefully that is the goal every day, to prevent runs.”
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The “Run Prevention Unit” has been putting in work since forming, with Walker estimating they’d spent hundreds of hours formulating plans for more than 30 pitchers. He even told McCaffrey that they’d host anywhere from one to five Zoom calls per day, typically running about an hour each.
It remains to be seen how their work translates during the season, but there’s no doubt the Red Sox are supporting the pitchers currently in contention for a roster spot.
Featured image via Darren Yamashita/USA TODAY Sports Images
