Craig Breslow and the Boston Red Sox were cooking this offseason, adding the likes of Garrett Crochet, Alex Bregman, Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman, among others. All have been exactly what fans were hoping for, if not more. However, even with the aggressive moves, fans still called for Breslow and the front office to add at least one more piece to a bullpen that was a disaster last season beyond Chapman and Justin Wilson. The Red Sox, however, didn’t oblige — and now they’re paying the price.
Entering Friday and a new series with the Minnesota Twins, the Red Sox are a disappointing 17-16 to begin the season. Sure, that’s good enough still for second place in the AL East only two games behind the rival New York Yankees. However, fans would probably argue that this team should be in the division lead if not for, largely, the bullpen.
On Thursday night in Toronto, Boston held a 2-1 lead over the Blue Jays going into the eighth inning after a massive bounce-back start from Tanner Houck. That’s when Alex Cora called in Justin Slaten for the second night in a row, but the results were awful. After getting the first batter out, he allowed a single, a double, then pitched to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who belted a rocket to left field for a three-run homer that ultimately won Toronto the game.
This came one night after the Red Sox bullpen also squandered a 6-3 lead after an uncharacteristically bad outing from Garrett Whitlock out of the bullpen. Slaten was nails in that game to help force extra innings, for what it’s worth.
Slaten and Whitlock are still core pieces of the bullpen, to be sure, arguably two of the three best arms among Red Sox relievers. A bad night at the office for each of them doesn’t change that. However, with now four games (at minimum) in which the Red Sox choked a lead away once the starter was removed from the game, the failure to address the bullpen more thoroughly is becoming an even more glaring mistake.
Red Sox’s failure to fully fix the bullpen is already haunting Boston
It’s hard not to look at Cora turning to Slaten on Thursday night for the second game in a row and not think that having more adequate bullpen depth might’ve helped the situation. He didn’t look to the newcomer Wilson or Greg Weissert, both of whom were healthy, and I don’t think Red Sox fans would argue with that. Neither player offers much comfort in high-leverage situations.
That’s the inherent problem with the current construction of the bullpen without another addition. Can Cora trust anyone fully in big spots beyond Whitlock, Slaten and Chapman? I’d argue that no one has fully proven themselves in that capacity, though recently called-up prospect Luis Guerrero is off to a helluva start with his audition to occupy one of those spots. Still, there needs to be more depth.
Even though the calendar just flipped to May, it’s already time for Boston to consider scouring the trade market for viable bullpen arms to add to the mix. The Red Sox can’t keep losing close games because of the lack of reliable depth, especially when the starters deliver quality performances. And if the trade market isn’t a possibility right now, veteran David Robertson remains readily available as a free agent as well. So, there are options to help with the problem.
Make no mistake, though, it is a problem. Even if you flip the results of just half of the close games that the bullpen has conceded the Red Sox’s way, they’re even more in the mix with the Yankees atop the division standings. It’s the one thing holding Boston back right now and fans have to feel the frustration deeply that they called for that to not be the case in the offseason, but the front office balked at the possibility.
The silver lining is that there’s still a chance to help the situation with another addition. It’s on Breslow and the Red Sox to make that move now, because ignoring the problem isn’t going to make it go away.
