Article: Where The Red Sox Went Wrong: Most Of The Bullpen

[Daniel Fox]

Friday, September 13, 2024. The Red Sox had a 4-0 lead against the Yankees headed into the bottom of the seventh. Though their bullpen was shorthanded and had used Justin Slaten to finish off the sixth, the Red Sox were in perfect position to even the series. All they needed to do was get nine outs before the Yankees scored five runs.

They couldn’t even get one.

Zack Kelly imploded on the mound, walking eight-hitter Anthony Volpe and nine-hitter Alex Verdugo and allowing a single to Gleyber Torres. Cam Booser came in to clean up the mess but instead walked Juan Soto on four pitches, fell behind Aaron Judge 2-0, then threw him the cookies to end all cookies that were blasted for a game-winning grand slam to give the Yankees a 5-4 win.

This September implosion was a direct result of the Red Sox's failure to invest in bullpen depth in the offseason. Credit where credit is due: Craig Breslow found a gem in Justin Slaten, who has posted a 3.16 ERA and 2.76 FIP in his rookie season. He also acquired a solid depth arm in Greg Weissert, who had a rocky middle of the season but still has a solid 3.45 ERA.

Those two pitchers, however, came through trades, and the Red Sox didn’t sign a single reliever to a major league contract. That really hurt, as did the failed acquisition of Isaiah Campbell. Hopes were high for Campbell after he posted a 2.70 ERA with the Mariners last season, but he lasted just two weeks before succumbing to a shoulder injury, spent two months on the IL, got lit up by the Blue Jays in his first appearance back, then got placed on the 60-day IL once again.

While Campbell was an unmitigated disaster, Breslow’s in-season acquisitions were hardly better. Over the course of the season, Breslow brought in Yohan Ramirez, Trey Wingenter, Bailey Horn, Lucas Sims, Brad Keller, and Luis Garcia. They all posted an ERA of at least 5.84, and only Horn is still on the roster.

The Red Sox were able to mitigate the lack of depth over the first half of the season, but things quickly spiraled when Slaten and Chris Martin went down with injuries in July. For the first few weeks of the second half, the Red Sox were forced to rely heavily on Zack Kelly, a 29-year-old career minor leaguer with terrible walk and home-run problems, and Cam Booser, a 32-year-old career minor leaguer with terrible walk and home run problems. The results were predictable. The Red Sox lost three games at the end of July, when their opponent was down to their last two outs, and went just 2-7 in a stretch where their offense scored six or more runs seven times.

 The trade deadline acquisitions of James Paxton, Danny Jansen, Sims, and Garcia are a topic for another day, but the point here is more about the process than the results. When you don’t invest in pitching, you will come up short. Craig Breslow chose to fix holes by acquiring guys from the White Sox Triple-A team, but surprisingly, a pitcher who is not good enough to make the worst MLB team of all time will not be a very good pitcher.

It is also malpractice to not invest in left-handed pitching. Brennan Bernadino was excellent at the beginning of the season, but his pedigree and underwhelming stuff showed it wouldn’t last. Joely Rodriguez is a shell of his former self, Booser is unproven, and Horn isn’t an MLB-caliber pitcher. When you play in a division with Gunnar Henderson and Juan Soto, you need good left-handed relievers, and the Red Sox haven’t even tried to get one.

The two relievers the Red Sox invested money in, Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen, aren’t just the two best arms in their bullpen, but they are also a blueprint for how the Red Sox should go after relievers this offseason. They need proven commodities, not minor-league journeymen. You get what you pay for, and the Red Sox can’t afford to cheap out on building a bullpen again.

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[mvp 78]

If Slaten and Martin were healthy for 162, this team would have had a much better outlook. 

Bernardino seemed to be a clear one year wonder and was due for regression. Winckowski's ERA fell back towards his FIP as expected. Not sure why they held onto Joely. 

There just weren't many good options to bring up from AAA this season.