Boston Red Sox placing bullpen faith in Tyler Thornburg

Outside of one (so far) key departure, the Boston Red Sox bullpen will look familiar in 2019, with Tyler Thornburg a key component in this area.

Back in December of 2016, the Boston Red Sox thought they’d landed a cornerstone of their bullpen for years to come when they brought in relief pitcher Tyler Thornburg.

Thornburg, acquired as part of a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for Travis Shaw, was coming off a dominant season in 2016. He’d just posted an 8-5 record with a 2.15 ERA, holding opponents to a .162 batting average. Arriving in Boston, Thornburg was penciled in to be the setup man of the future for the Red Sox.

Now preparing to enter his third season in a Red Sox uniform, Thornburg appears primed to finally deliver on those heady expectations. The team will need him, especially with the departure of Joe Kelly, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Tyler Thornburg is looking to make up for lost time, especially after an unfortunate shoulder surgery caused him to miss all of 2017.

The righty battled back in 2018, making a return to the major league club in July. He appeared in 25 games, throwing 24 innings and posting a 5.63 ERA.

2019 could find Thornburg heavily relied on out of the bullpen, especially as some of the roles are still in flux. There is currently no anointed closer and the reliever market is thinning out. A healthy Thornburg will get a lot of mileage, especially for a player in his contract year.

Boston Red Sox bullpen

Thornburg will join in the bullpen a slew of familiar faces from Boston’s 2018 championship run.

Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes, Hector Velazquez, and Heath Hembree are among the names returning to the Red Sox bullpen in 2019. Some (Brasier) were much better than others (Hembree) down the stretch last season.

Thornburg was shut down in September last season so he was not part of Boston’s outstanding bullpen performance in the playoffs. His last appearance was 9/14 against the New York Mets.

Kelly is gone, as is Drew Pomeranz. Part of the bullpen will likely also include a few of the five starters competing for spots 3-5 in the rotation. Carson Smith was also signed to a minor league contract and, on the chance he gets back to good, might take a spot in the bullpen.

And of course, there is still the status of free agent reliever Craig Kimbrel (who hopefully returns to Boston, one way or the other).

If he doesn’t — and the Red Sox make no other moves — it’s entirely possible Tyler Thornburg gets a chance at the role of closer. In 2016, he did so with the Brewers over the season’s final two months, and ended with 13 saves.

Of course, he’s not the only possibility. And with Thornburg, baby steps of improvement will be nice. He showed flashes of his brilliance last season, twice having five consecutive appearances without allowing a run.

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If Kimbrel does come back, the Red Sox bullpen shouldn’t be far off from their performance level of 2018. Sure, there are a lot of “ifs”, Tyler Thornburg included, but the pieces falling into place are all part of the fun of the season.

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