Meet Chad Tracy's Circle of Trust: Ranking Red Sox's Most Reliable Bullpen Options Ahead of Playoff Push

[Alex Mayes]

The bullpen for the Boston Red Sox was one of the driving forces behind their amazing run through the month of July and the early part of August. When the rotation turned in a short outing, the 'pen stepped up and kept the game in check by tossing lights out innings night after night.

That’s why it was so surprising to watch the bullpen become the Achilles heel of the team as they’ve hit their second-half skid. As we approach the stretch run and, hopefully, the postseason, I wanted to rank the bullpen as it currently stands by most trustworthy. For this exercise, both Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten will not be included as they have recently landed on the injured list and there’s no set timetable for their return. When healthy though, both would be in the ‘most trustworthy’ category. 

Least Trustworthy

• Jovani Moran

While it may feel weird to include Moran on the least trustworthy side of the list, it’s clear he’s pressing quite a bit and is very close to completely running out of gas. For the month of August, he’s tossed 8.2 innings over eight games. His ERA in that span is at 4.15 and he’s sporting an untenable 15.8% walk rate. His strikeout numbers are solid, but his command is all over the place and he’s regularly missing by leaving pitches middle-middle in the zone. While he hasn’t been tagged with a loss this month, he’s contributed to quite a few of them. [He’s also committed the lone balk of the month for the bullpen, for whatever that's worth.] He’d been rock solid through a large portion of the season, if you take out his handful of opener appearances, but he’s quickly becoming a liability in the 'pen and will likely only be used in low-leverage situations from here on out.

Moderately Trustworthy

• Greg Weissert

While Weissert has given us all heart palpitations at multiple points this season, he’s earned some amount of trust from Tracy as a late-inning, high-leverage arm right now. He’s appeared in six games so far this month and has pitched his way to a 2.25 ERA. He’s sporting an impressive 26.1% strikeout rate but his walk rate is a sky high 17.4% to go along with it. He was optioned at the beginning of the month to make room for Raymond Burgos after the 13-inning marathon game against the White Sox but never threw a pitch for the WooSox. He’s back up now and due to the injuries of Whitlock and Slaten, will be forced into a role that he really hasn’t seen since the World Baseball Classic when he was the closer for Team Italy. 

• Tyron Guerrero

Guerrero has been one of the most impressive arms out of the bullpen all season. He was an under-the-radar offseason addition that has transformed into a high-leverage arm out of the 'pen. The only reason he’s located in the moderately trustworthy section is because he’s started to look mortal in a couple of appearances this month. So far, he’s pitched 8.2 innings over nine games with a 5.19 ERA that was inflated by a blow-up performance against the Blue Jays where he allowed four earned runs. His strikeout rate has slumped to 17.1%, but he's made up for it with pristine command, as his walk rate sits at an impressive 5.7% for the month. He’s a flamethrower who keeps hitters off balance and he should return to his steady, dominant self as we push through the dog days of summer.

• Alec Gamboa

The Boa Constrictor only has two games under his belt since being recalled but he’s sporting a flat zero ERA over four innings pitched. That being said, he also has a flat zero strikeout and walk rate. He’s not the most dominant arm out of the 'pen, but he eats innings and can be used in middle relief pretty safely. He may not still be on the active roster once names like Tanner Houck, Johan Oviedo, and possibly Kutter Crawford get closer to returning but for now, he’s safe to deploy in the middle innings.

• Raymond Burgos/Wyatt Olds

These two are here by default; in truth, they'll likely be replaced once aforementioned options get healthy down the stretch. For now, Burgos has given the Red Sox 10 gutsy innings this month (2.70 ERA), while Olds has looked dominant in his two August innings. So long as they're on the roster, they can be trusted to handle low-leverage spots.

Most Trustworthy

• Brayan Bello

As a certified Bello day-one supporter, it’s been great to see him fully accept his bullpen role and thrive in it. For the month of August, he’s notched two wins and a save already while pitching 13.2 innings over four games. He’s working with a 1.32 ERA during that span and he’s been dominant on the bump. He’s striking out batters at a 19.2% clip and his walk rate is incredible at just 3.8%. If and when the Red Sox need a long-man in a crucial game over the next six weeks, Bello is the guy they'll go to.

• Erik Miller

Newly acquired, Miller has tossed 6.1 innings in six games this month and, like Bello above, has been dominant. He hasn't allowed a run and is working with an astonishing 38.5% strikeout rate, and a 11.5% walk rate. There’s been a lot of discourse surrounding Miller due to the trade that brought him to Boston, but he’s been as advertised with even better command than he showed in San Francisco. He immediately slots into the set-up role in the bullpen where he should typically give the closer a clear runway to land the plane at the end of each game. Miller looks to be slowly taking over the role of ‘closer in waiting’ for the Red Sox, and Tracy should feel incredibly comfortable deploying him in any situation down the stretch.

• Aroldis Chapman

Finally, the big man rounds out this list. Yes, he’s looked far more human at times, but he’s still one of the top closers in the game and should be trusted to slam the door shut in most situations. For the month of August, he’s sitting on a 3.60 ERA, which isn’t ideal, but he seems to have rediscovered his 100+ mph sinker in the last couple of appearances. His 20% strikeout rate is a bit down, but he’s been deploying his secondary pitches a bit more in an effort to pitch more to contact. Even if the numbers were worse than this, though, he’d pretty much have to be in the top-tier due to his pedigree and the fact that there’s no other closer option for the team through the end of the season.

View full article