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Boston Red Sox: Ranking the team’s five All-Stars

By Owen Crisafulli

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 01: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates with Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox after hitting a 2 RBI home run in the bottom of the sixth inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on July 01, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 01: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates with Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox after hitting a 2 RBI home run in the bottom of the sixth inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on July 01, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
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Boston Red Sox Matt BArnes (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Boston Red Sox All-Star No. 4: Matt Barnes

The Boston Red Sox bullpen was one of the worst areas on an already awful team in 2020, but they have experienced a major resurgence this season, and a big reason for that is Matt Barnes.

Barnes was handed the closer role last season, and wasn’t anything to write home about. When it was announced that he was set to retain his closer role this season, fans were expectedly skeptical about how he would handle the role.

All Barnes has done this season is mow down hitters though, and has turned himself into one of the best closers in the game. For his entire career, it felt like Barnes could just never put all the pieces together, and would trade stretches where he was un-hittable with ones where lineups couldn’t see enough of him.

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But it’s all come together this season. Barnes has been much more aggressive, attacking hitters with his high 90’s fastball early and often in the count. Not to mention he has a wipeout curveball that has been breaking hitters backs the entire season. Put that together and you have the new and improved Matt Barnes.

There are still some flaws in Barnes pitching. He’s already blown four saves on the season, and has remained susceptible to an untimely home run every once in awhile. But Boston desperately needed someone to step up at the backend of the bullpen, and Barnes has been that guy for the Sox this season.

Barnes falls lower on this list in part to the entire performance on the bullpen. While he has been spectacular, so has the rest of the pen for the most part. But without Barnes at the back, everything falls apart (for example, their recent 7-6 extra innings loss to the Oakland Athletics), and he is more than deserving of his first All-Star nod.

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