With the Milwaukee Brewers acquiring stud pitcher C.C. Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians, (expected to be made official sometime this morning) the trading season is officially upon us.
There’s no telling who the Red Sox will go after, if they even go after anyone, because of the tremendous depth and flexibility the team has to offer. Not only that, but any possible targets that the Red Sox may be interested in could head elsewhere to a more desperate team. The Tampa Bay Rays have expressed interest in the Rockies’ reliever Brian Fuentes, and they could certainly compete with any offer by the Sox should it get down to that.
One potential option the Red Sox have is to shift Justin Masterson to the bullpen. This would give the pen a shot in the arm, and would theoretically improve the rotation as well because Clay Buchholz has been pitching out of his mind in Pawtucket. Couple that with Bartolo Colon’s impending return and there’s reason to have Masterson shift to the bullpen.
It’s clear that the bullpen is the Sox’s achilles heel so far this year, but what’s not clear is if there really needs to be a dramatic shakeup. Papelbon is Papelbon, despite looking human so far this year. Javier Lopez has pitched well and Manny Delcarmen has rounded into form. Hideki Okajima isn’t the force he was last year, but he has strung together a couple solid outings as of late. David Aardsma has been an intriguing weapon for us and Mike Timlin certainly has a chance to give us a strong second half much like he did last year.
Craig Hansen remains inconsistent and would be a prime candidate to be sent to Triple-A (or even traded) should the Red Sox elect to convert Masterson to a reliever or make another move.
Unfortunately, I can’t see the Sox doing this because they would probably think that it wouldn’t be in Masterson’s long-term interest to become a reliever due to potential injury shortfalls and the adjustment needed. I personally think this is a load of hooey. Teams baby their pitchers unnecessarily these days. The Earl of Baltimore (Earl Weaver, long-time Orioles manager) was a big proponent of bringing his young starting pitchers along by pitching them out of the bullpen and I also subscribe to this theory. But then again, the Red Sox have done exceptionally well as of late preventing pitcher injuries so what do I know?
Regardless, the Red Sox have the depth needed to make an adjustment in the bullpen should they feel it in their best interest to do so. Boston’s reliever ERA is 4.04, good (bad, really) for 20th in the major leagues. The A.L. average is 3.78 so the Sox are decidedly below average at a position that is crucial in the postseason.
If not Brian Fuentes, there are several other options:
- 29-year old Sean Green, SEA: 47 IP, 3.09 ERA (RHP)
- 37-year old Ron Mahay, KC: 44.1, 2.03 (LHP)
- 29-year old Jon Rauch (photo, above, Scott Ableman), WAS: 44.1, 2.44 (RHP)
- 33-year old Damaso Marte, PIT: 40.2, 3.54 (LHP)
You tell me who we should pursue. The cheapest person to get would probably be either Green or Marte. Considering we already have two lefthanders in the bullpen, I’m not as concerned about the handiness of the player, so I’d be more inclined to go after either Mahay or Rauch. Leave Fuentes to go somewhere for a boatload of prospects and possibly struggle in the A.L. What say you?