With Craig Kimbrel now off the market, here are some internal closing options for the Boston Red Sox going forward.
The Boston Red Sox have been the victim of a lot of negativity through the course of this season, specifically in the 9th inning. The Sox are going to have to either trade for a quality late-inning product or find one from within.
I’m sick of the Boston Red Sox not having a closer named yet. It’s almost like head skipper Alex Cora takes his hat off in the 8th inning, rips off a few pieces of paper from the scorecards, writes down every reliever he has, picks one out, calls the bullpen and says get ready to go.
Cora my friend, I’m not telling you how to do your job or anything, but here are three different options the Boston Red Sox can pursue from within the roster to fix their bullpen inconsistency, specifically in save situations and late in the game.
1. Brandon Workman
Brandon Workman has had a well-deserved success story thus far through the 2019 season. In 27 1/3 innings pitched, he’s slapped up a very respectable 1.98 ERA with 39 punch outs, 18 walks, 8 hits, and 2 saves.
When digging deeper into Workman’s numbers, that is where my jaw dropped to the floor; opponents are batting .091 against him this year… Yeah that isn’t a typo.
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Another number that was mind-boggling to me was his WHIP is 0.95. Despite the high walk numbers, that is an outstanding spot to be at regardless of the role one may have within a pitching staff.
Here’s where it gets exciting with Workman; over his last 9 games (between May 15th-June 4th) he has posted up 8 1/3 inning he’s been lights out at a 1.08 ERA with 12 K’s, 4 walks, 3 hits, and 2 saves.
Looking at his numbers a bit further through his last 9, batters are hitting a soft .130 and has posted a .840 WHIP. What the last 9 games scream to us is that Workman has only improved and become more dominant as the year progresses as well as gaining a lot more trust from the squad and coaching staff in the later innings.
Workman’s numbers this year prove to me that he has the stuff to be able to wear the crown of being the Red Sox closer. With his 2 saves on the year coming in his last 9 outings, he may be the answer we’ve been looking for much sooner than later.
Regardless of his role, I expect Workman to continue his reign of dominance as a major league reliever for the remainder of the season and remain a crucial spot to the Red Sox bullpen.
Stay tuned on the Workhorse and if this isn’t an All-Star this year, he either got snubbed or he beat himself between now and the end of the voting period.
2. Marcus Walden
This guy comes out of nowhere at the beginning of the year and has worked his way into being a bright spot in the Boston Red Sox pen.
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Through 23 appearances and 34 2/3 innings, he has posted a 2.08 ERA with 38 K’s, 9 BB’S, 21 hits, and 1 save. Marcus Walden also has a 0.87 WHIP and opponents are batting .171 against him.
Over the last 10 games Walden has pitched in (between May 2nd-June 6th), he has chucked 14 1/3 innings pitched with a 2.51 ERA, 15 strikeouts, 4 walks, 10 hits and 1 save. In addition, Walden has an even 1.00 WHIP and batters are hitting at .192 over that span.
Walden has proven in a short window of time that he has the ability to pitch at this level, remain consistent, and able to pitch in crucial moments of a ballgame.
I wouldn’t say Walden is a better option compared to Brandon Workman, but he could most certainly be an effective and successful closer for the Red Sox if they choose to go down that route.
3. Nathan Eovaldi
Before I get going on Nathan Eovaldi, this is a stretch, but hear me out.
With the injury he sustained to his elbow back in April, Eovaldi is going to be watched under a microscope the rest of the year, specifically with his pitch count.
Rather than putting a lot of stress on that elbow right away as a starter again, I say the Red Sox sauce him to the back end of the pen to close out the games for the rest of the year once he’s healthy.
He’ll be able to empty the tank and go 110% for 1-2 innings, throw his 100mph+ heater and dice up 3 K’s and a fist pump. I don’t think I need to go into detail and back up Nate’s ability to pitch in relief after what he did on the bump in the playoffs.
It would be really cool to see Eovaldi close out games in the 9th for the Sox once he’s ready to rock n roll and I have a hunch that he would be one of the best in the business if he was given that opportunity and wanted to run with it.
Final Statement
With the All-Star break rapidly approaching, the Boston Red Sox need to do something soon. Our bullpen is strong overall, but it is a must to name a guy as the set closer so they can be ready for that sort of role night in and night out
Whether it’s Brandon Workman, Marcus Walden, or Nathan Eovaldi when he returns from injury, these are the best 3 options we have internally to date. Just please, name someone as the closer so someone on that staff can hold the responsibility and show up to the park every day with the mentality and know that is the when they’ll get the ball night in and night out.