The bullpen gambles paid off in 2018, so why not try 'em again?
Because they won’t always work, is the simple answer. Going into this season, the Red Sox have the general goodwill and cachet of a World Series title powering them.
(And if something worked in the past, folks, that means it's definitely going to work in the future.)
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If no notable additions are made, the relief plan for the Sox in 2019 seems simple: roll out what they have early in the season and see if some of their intriguing arms step up and prove to be, well, intriguing.
If the group disappoints, then the Sox can simply pay a prospect or two in a trade, try to find lightning in a bottle and bam, they'll win the World Series again, rinse and repeat.
(Because if trading prospects didn't hurt recently, folks, it definitely won't hurt in the future.)
Boston Red Sox
Sounds easy. Sounds potentially cost-effective, too, if you’d prefer not to spend John Henry’s money. Why buy bullpen pieces now when you can buy later, or maybe even avoid buying altogether if you hit on some in-house alternatives?
The answer again is simple: because you’re better off from a baseball perspective spending dollars — as would be spent in free agency now — rather than prospects — as would be dealt in a trade.
But there’s also a money-making perspective that the owners care about.
If the status quo remains, there will still be a disconnect between how important Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski thought it was to acquire Craig Kimbrel as his first major move in Boston and how, today, Dombrowski gives off an impression that a proven closer is unnecessary.
"When we look at Craig, we look at him as a premium closer, and there are various names out there, but [Kimbrel is] one of the best in the game of baseball," Dombrowski said when the Sox acquired Kimbrel prior to the 2016 season. "I think the key for us is we had identified some guys that stood above the rest, as far as the ability to close. We thought the ability to get one of those guys was extremely important.”
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Has Dombrowski really changed his thinking, or has the pocketbook simply been closed on him, and he now must sell the lack of a move to a fan base?
Fast forward to today, and they’ll sell you on anybody in the organization. If he can throw a baseball, believe it, they’ll talk him up. Is he rehabbing, a knuckleballer or in Double-A? Yup, potential closer written all over him.
Realistically? The Sox want to see if Ryan Brasier can continue to emerge, if Tyler Thornburg can look like pre-op Tyler Thornburg and if Matt Barnes can strike out a million per nine and maybe even lower his walk rate a tad. See if there’s good health, as well as comfort in the ninth inning for the person(s) who regularly get a chance.
“We do feel that there are certain guys that, they have to take a step forward, and they will because of what we're going to try to talk to them [about] in spring training,” manager Alex Cora said. “Work [Brandon Workman], [Heath] Hembree, very intriguing guys, [Bobby] Poyner, we know what he can do. B.J. [Brian Johnson], Hector [Velazquez], for whatever they did in the rotation, they got big outs anyways. So we'll see."
The question is how long the Sox wait: until Kimbrel takes the kind of money the Sox would be crazy to pass on? Until they’re desperate at midseason? Or does the potential gamble pay off and Brasier and Barnes are on the cover of Sports Illustrated come July as the newest Killer B's?
Remember, folks, that doubling down never hurt anybody.
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