The Boston Red Sox are now seven games above.500 and 4.5 games out of the last postseason berth. Their playoff
aspirations, however modest, are alive. The upcoming three-game series against the Astros is a virtual must-win.
Chris Sale started the first game of the series, struggled with efficiency, and left with two outs in the fifth inning,
behind by one run. Enter Kyle Barraclough. To his credit, Barraclough retired the first batter he faced and stranded
two runs.
The Red Sox recovered the lead in the bottom of the inning, and unusually, the bullpen stayed silent. Barraclough
took the mound for the sixth inning.
While this was going on, there were fewer critters in the bullpen than in the entire house on Christmas Eve.
Following the game (a loss), we discovered that Barraclough was the only reliever available, aside from Chris Martin
and Kenley Jansen. All of this means that if you recall the bullpen as a liability last season, you’re most likely
remembering the ragged remains of the rotation. For the majority of the season, the unit was actually strong.
As you can see, the bullpen ran into a wall in August. The walk rate climbed, the strikeout rate declined, and the ERA
rose as a result. It remains to be seen whether the rotation will be able to keep their half of the deal this year, but the
bullpen is once again building up to be a solid unit, at least for a while. Here’s a peek at each of the characters we
might see from the pen this year.
Kenley Jansen will serve as the Boston Red Sox’s closer in 2024. Unless he isn’t. Throughout the winter, his name
has come up in trade talks. At this point, I believe it is safe to conclude that there is insufficient interest to move
Jansen before the season begins, especially given his recent preseason injury.
