It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Boston Red Sox. Their once commanding lead of the AL East disappeared into thin air, as they watched the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees leapfrog over them in the standings. Now, a team once seemingly set for the playoffs is battling just to hang onto the second wild card spot in the American League.
There have been many reasons for their struggles, and we have probably covered just about every one of them here at Chowder & Champions. But one player who has really come to personify the teams struggles is Matt Barnes.
Barnes has excelled for most of the season, and even earned himself his first All-Star appearance earlier this season as a result. But Barnes has morphed into an almost unplayable pitcher throughout the month of August for some reason. His ERA entering the month was 2.30; it now sits at 3.91 after his latest blunder against the Minnesota Twins last night.
Barnes is very nearly unplayable at this point, as he simply cannot get outs. Not to mention, he’s currently imploding as the closer, easily the most important part of the bullpen. With manager Alex Cora not committing to Barnes as the closer for the foreseeable future, here are three potential closer candidates to replace Barnes should he ultimately get removed.
Boston Red Sox closer candidate No. 3: Hansel Robles
Hansel Robles came in and did major damage control last night to help the Sox pick up a much needed win, and earned himself his first save with his new team. It may not be his last one too if Barnes ends up getting removed from his current role.
Of the remaining relievers on the Red Sox roster, Robles probably has the most experience closing out games. He already had 10 saves on the season before last night from his time in Minnesota, and very recently had a spectacular 23 save season with the Los Angeles Angels in 2019. Robles hasn’t been fantastic during his initial appearences with Boston, but last night proved he can be an effective option to close out games when needed.
In fact, Robles has now gone six straight outings without giving up a run, which is a welcome sight considering how bad his first few appearences were. After initially struggling, it looks like Robles may be finally finding his groove.
There is a ton of risk with giving Robles this much responsibility however. He’s been streaky during his short stint in Boston, but that’s pretty much how he has been throughout his entire career. He has a career ERA of 4.05, and his ERA for this season still sits at a bloated 4.89 even after his recent hot stretch.
One thing is for sure though; Robles came in and finished off a game that Barnes couldn’t last night. Winning games is all that matters at this stage of the season, and if Robles has the hot hand, there’s no reason for him to not be closing games out. It seems somewhat crazy to say, but right now Robles seems like the safer bet to close out games at this point.
Boston Red Sox closer candidate No. 2: Adam Ottavino
Adam Ottavino has developed himself into quite the setup man, but has never really taken a full closer role. Throughout his 11 year career, Ottavino only has 27 career saves, and eight of them have come this season. But he may just be Boston’s best bet to close out games at this point in time.
Ottavino has had an uneven first season with the Sox. He’s had stretches where he has looked unhittable, using his deadly slider to make opposing hitters look like fools. He’s also had stretches where he has shown a complete lack of command, and promptly tossed games away.
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But regardless of their inconsistencies, Barnes and Ottavino posed a deadly duo at the back of the bullpen throughout the first half of the season. With Barnes now faltering, it may be time for the two to switch roles.
For the most part, Ottavino has been solid in the month of August. He’s only given up two runs through 8.1 innings, which is certainly much better than Barnes has done this month. Given his experience in late inning situations, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to expect Ottavino to be able to make the transition from the setup role to closer.
Similar to Robles however, there is risk involved with Ottavino here. While it hasn’t been as frequent as other guys in the pen, Ottavino has been inconsistent on the season. When he’s not on, it gets ugly, and that’s an easy way to throw away close contests.
Despite his occasional struggles, Ottavino is probably the top candidate to replace Barnes. He’s already shown a level of comfort in those situations considering he has eight saves, and it would probably be a smooth transition should it be implemented. Yet while Ottavino is probably the most likely option to replace Barnes, he’s almost certainly not the best option to fill the closer role.
Boston Red Sox closer candidate No. 1: Garrett Whitlock
That top option would be Garrett Whitlock. It’s become increasingly clear throughout the course of the season that Whitlock is special, and the fact that he was scooped up in the Rule 5 draft makes things even better. As this month has progressed, Whitlock has proven to be Boston’s best reliever, and as his responsibilities have increased, he’s just continued to set down hitters with ease.
Take his most recent outing against the Texas Rangers, which was just a masterful display of clutch pitching. Whitlock immediately entered the game with runners on second and third with just one out after Barnes threw away a 3-1 lead. Whitlock buckled down, and made sure the game would at least be heading to extras, which it ended up doing.
Whitlock continued to mercilessly mow down the Rangers lineup. He did give up a potentially catastrophic run in the10th, but rebounded with a clean 11th once given the chance. The Red Sox needed someone from the bullpen to step up and get some outs, and you can make a case that Whitlock won Boston this game.
That’s what closers are supposed to do. When the game is on the line, you call upon your best guy to finish off the opposing team. That’s what Barnes had been for most of the season, but he just isn’t anymore.
Whitlock is now that guy. Sporting a sterling 1.64 ERA, Whitlock has easily been the Sox best reliver this season, especially with Barnes seemingly forgetting how to pitch. Put your best guy in the biggest spots, and let him go to work. That’s what Cora did in that game against Texas, and Boston came away with a victory as a result.
While it’s certainly more likely that Robles or Ottavino will find themselves closing games in the near future, Whitlock has to be considered the top option here. Nobody has been able to get guys out like he has this season, and that hasn’t wavered as he has been used in more late game situations. Boston needs to get every win they can right now, and inserting Whitlock as their closer is their best shot at winning these games, especially the close ones.