Cameron Tran

I've always been a big believer in HS bats > College bats and College arms > HS arms. Seems like Breslow agrees in that matter. Breslow's drafting looks pretty good, seems like he has a more fleshed out plan when drafting. Will be interesting to see how his IFA classes play out, especially with Bloom being solid (imo) in that area.

Looks like Cora will give Harrison, Tolle, and Early a chance to make and solidify the back end of the postseason rotation.

No, absolutely not a "firing offense." All in all, I think the main problem was Breslow being complacent with May and not having an alternative if they couldn't land Ryan (which always looked unlikely)

Accoriding to Tommy Cassell, LHP Kyle Harrison will make his Red Sox debut on Wednesday following Early tonight. The move will push Tolle back to Friday against New York. Harrison was acquired from SF in the Rafael Devers trade. He had a 4.56 ERA in 8 MLB starts with the Giants, and had a 3.75 ERA in 12 starts with AAA Worcester.

This pitcher heavy draft also comes into play, as we've seen Breslow is willing to rush up top pitching prospects (Payton Tolle). For the first time in a real long time it looks like we have some solid young pitching options throughout the minors.

I heard the DBacks wanted Early but the Sox were only willing to give Brandon Clarke. Heard that from Section 10, not sure how reliable that is but wanted to source.

Didn't know Houck was going to blow his arm out either. Buehler hadn't blown up yet. Don't forget there were talks of a 6 man rotation in spring training. Now we're down to 3

His raw stuff is good enough to merit a look as a one-inning reliever, but if this IL stint is more than 10 days DFA is probably the best option, I can't see Cora trusting him to start a playoff game

can't really hate the Priester move. He was pretty bad for us and Fitts looked solid early in the season. Also got us Marcus Phillips, who we apparently loved pre draft enough to maybe take him underslot over Witherspoon.

I still like Harrison. Red Sox heavily increased his slider percentage, and we've seen the "pitching lab" churn out some solid sliders. Problem is his walk numbers are way up since joining and his strikeout's are down. Seems like we've pretty much given up on him for the 2025 season.

All 4 championship series teams in there as well. Definitely a good idea to have someone who can atleast give you innings in the DS

Athletics since ASG: 3rd in SLG 3rd in HR 7th in wRC+ 8th in OBP 9th in ERA 9th in K/9 Offense did a good job getting to Morales and the bullpen. Encouraging that Crochet was able to get through 7 without allowing a HR after the Cleveland start, especially in a hitters friendly park like Sacremento. Going to be a big test for Early in his first start. No offense to Pittsburgh, who have been playing okay in their own right under Don Kelly, but Early faces a much bigger challenge than Tolle. Hopefully going to be a good game.

The problem was Breslow didn't recognize that, and had pretty bad tunnel vision into going after Ryan. I still think we could have easily beat Texas' offer for Merril Kelly

With Crochet at well over his career high in innings, Bello approaching his career high, and Giolito coming off a TJ season, I think one of the young guys definitely has a chance of making the postseason roster as a #4. Not that we necessarily need one, but it would be nice to have.

Who's your 4th starter come October? Tolle? Early? What's the word on Criswell? When are we going to see Kyle Harrison? Bullpen game? Lots of big questions regarding the back end of the rotation (something we also had many questions about at the trade deadline).

Is Early postseason roster eligible?

very good win. That Luis Morales kid had some pretty great stuff though. He's going to be a great arm for them. That story about his defection was really cool too.

Maybe we can let him get some of Hicks innings

I like Eaton, but he should not be our leadoff man. He can absolutely fly though. Anyone know if hes a solid bunter?

Lowe's been a 3 WAR player the past few seasons before this one. Whiff rates and K rates have both jumped, but his BABIP has also dropped 40 points. Hoping it was a weird message from the Nats (his pull rate increased by 5%) that might be causing something.

is Harrison a September call-up candidate?

the dude has been pretty damn good in every starting opportunity we give him. Feel kind of bad for him lol

All in all, the Red Sox bullpen has performed well above expectations this season. Anchored by offseason acquisition Aroldis Chapman turning back the clock a decade or so, the Sox have gotten good performance from a number of relievers, with Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert, Justin Wilson, and Steven Matz all performing well. Despite this, the Red Sox bullpen has seemed rather top heavy at times. While there is reason for optimism, such as the imminent return of Justin Slaten and the hope Jordan Hicks can find something, too many times has the Red Sox bullpen depth cost them games. A prime example comes in the form of Saturdays 7-5 win over Miami. With a 5 run lead in the 9th, Isiah Campbell could only record 2 outs while allowing 3 runs and forcing Cora to turn to Chapman with the tying run at the plate. This led to Chapman being unavailable to pitch in Sunday;s game, where the Red Sox blew a 3-2 lead in the 9th in a game they would lose 5-3. We've seen this happen before, most recently with Jorge Alcala, and, as Will Flemming says best, "that just cannot happen." So, as the Red Sox gear up for a September playoff push, here's my candidates for the final bullpen spot. Isaiah Campbell: The aforementioned Campbell has struggled in limited action with the Sox, allowing 4 homeruns in just 14 innings of work. Despite these struggles, fangraphs data loves his stuff, grading his slider, sinker and curveball as above average offerings. Unfortunately, Campbell has been completely unable to put it together at the big league level, and hasn't fared all to well in AAA either, with a 4.17 ERA in 45 innings. It seems likely this could be Campbell's last chance with the Sox. Jovanni Moran: Moran was acquired this offseason from the Twins in exchange for Mickey Gasper after spending 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Moran pitched very well in 2022 with the Twins, struggled in 2023 (despite a FIP a run and a half below his ERA), and underwent Tommy John before 2024. Moran made his Red Sox debut against the Astros on August 12th, striking out 2 and allowing 1 earned run in 2 innings of work. His fastball averages 93, but his low 80s slider has been his best pitch so far in his career. Moran's solid debut should earn him some more action. Zack Kelly: Kelly was a key part of the Red Sox bullpen last year, but has failed to regain his spot after exiting a game in late June. In 56 innings last year, Kelly sported a 3.97 ERA with an above average K rate thanks in part to an amazing fastball-slider-changeup mix. All three pitches came back with stuff+ grades 10% better than league average, with his slider rocking a 134 stuff+. In 22 innings this season, Kelly has introduced a cutter and a sinker, giving him a 5 pitch mix where no pitch is being thrown over 30% of the time. Most of his underlying metrics suggest Kelly might be experiencing some bad luck, as his BABIP has skyrocketed to an unsustainable .344. Despite all this, Kelly's struggles have followed him to the minors, as he currently has an ERA north of 5 in his 21 AAA innings. Dustin May: Despite the heavy price paid for the starter, it seems likely May would be the odd one out if the Red Sox decide to go to a 4 man rotation in October. May struggled in his first start, but had a bounce-back outing against a strong Houston team, throwing 6 scoreless while striking out 8. May showed improvement in velocity retention in this start, but his issues in his first start, where his fastball velocity dropped to 92-93 by his 60th pitch, linger. If May fails to build off this most recent start, don't be surprised if we see Cora start to use him as a high-leverage reliever, as his pure stuff on a one inning basis is still elite. Luis Guerrero: Guerrero was a prime candidate to hold a high leverage roll this season after a strong showing last September, with some (me) predicting he could win the closer spot by June. Unfortunately, Guerrero struggled in 17 innings early, before hitting the 60 day IL in late June. Guerrero is eligible to return on August 28th, and is closing in on a rehab assignment. His fastball has looked much worse this season, with his velocity being a tick down across the board. The hope is that we can chalk that up to a bummy elbow, as Guerrero locked great in 9 games last September. Brennan Bernardino: Bernardino has been a staple in the Sox pen for the better part of the last 3 seasons, but was recently demoted to AAA in favor of fellow lefty Chris Murphy. Bernardino was enjoying a strong campaign up to the point of demotion, and had in fact thrown 12 scoreless innings in July. Despite this, he was sent to Worcester at the beginning of August, where he has pitched 4 innings, striking out 8 while allowing 1 earned. It only seems like a matter of time before Bernardino returns to Boston. Chris Murphy: Murphy was initially chosen over Bernardino to remain in the Red Sox bullpen following the acquisition Steven Matz, but joined Bernardino in Worcester following an August 11th demotion. Murphy had been solid over 17 innings in June and July, but a pair of tough outings in San Diego, in which he walked 5 and recorded just 2 outs, spelled the end 27 year old. The hope is Murphy's feel for the zone will return, as he has held opposing batters to just a .162 BA this year in Boston.

After homering in back to back games this week against the Astro's, Romans triple slash sat at an impressive .286/.406/.451. Yet somehow you feel there is more in the tank? Coming into this series, Anthony had hit just 2 homeruns in his first 200 PAs. And so, despite the otherworldly on base ability, you wouldn't be wrong to say the best is yet to come from the 21 yr old. According to baseball savant, Roman Anthony has a pull air %, or how many fly balls Anthony pulls, of just 13.6%. Well below the average 16.7%. Moreover, Anthonys 52% GB rate and 39.7% Topped rate indicate the slugger has yet to establish himself as a consistent linedrive and homerun threat. This may be in part to his surprising struggles with pitches over the heart of the plate, notching a -5 run value on such pitches. This should improve as Anthony faces more pitching, but could be accelerated if he were to swing the bat more. His zone swing% of 53.4% is over 10 points below league average, while his zone contact% is 5 points below league average. Now this is not to say that what Anthony is doing is not extremely impressive. In 2025, only 2 players have a chase% and hard-hit% in the 95th percentile or better. Those 2 players, Roman Anthony and Juan Soto. If we could get Juan Soto for the next 9 years, at just around $500 million cheaper than him, we'd be the happiest people on Earth. But if Roman were to up his swing% just a tick, especially on pitches over the heart of the plate, we could end up with a truly once in a lifetime player.

not at all. people forget he was 95th percentile in OAA last year while playing primarily center