Alex Cora discusses Heath Hembree’s recent struggles

Heath Hembree was one of the Boston Red Sox' most consistent pitchers during the first half of the season. In 17 appearances from May to June 10, Hembree logged a 1-0 record with a 0.60 ERA and 22 strikeouts. He was rock-solid and appeared to be emerging as a back-end bullpen option.

However, since returning from the IL on July 5, things haven't gone as smoothly for Hembree. In nine appearances since that date, Hembree has posted a 9.00 ERA and has had a couple of dud outings.

One of those outings came on Friday against the New York Yankees and in that contest, he failed to record an out while allowing three men to get on base. And in the wake of Hembree's struggles, Red Sox manager Alex Cora described what his issues have been.

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"The breaking ball wasn’t good," Cora said of Hembree's Friday-night outing, per Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. "The fastball command wasn’t great. As everybody knows, [Hembree] is a guy who lives upstairs with the fastball regardless of velocity. Everything was down in the zone."

Hembree did have similar command issues in a July 16 outing. His velocity was down and he surrendered three runs without recording an out. While some thought he had an injury at the time, he is healthy, according to Cora. The problem is just his command.

Hembree's recent performance is of note for the Red Sox, as they can't necessarily rely on him to be a consistent, late-inning option. That could spur Dave Dombrowski to make a deal for a bullpen arm, and it would explain why the Red Sox are one of the teams that are reportedly interested in obtaining the services of New York Mets closer, Edwin Diaz.