Red Sox Looking to Add Reliever

The Boston Red Sox are on pace to set a franchise record in wins. But that doesn’t mean they are completely satisfied with their current roster.

Bolstering their bullpen—which has been shaky in recent weeks—remains the top priority for Boston, according to multiple reports. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports and Jim Bowden of The Athletic claim that the Red Sox are keeping their eyes on many relief pitchers with the non-waiver trade deadline approaching on Tuesday afternoon.

Red Sox still determined to add relief help. Looking into yates, kela, ziegler and many, many others. Have some luxury tax concerns as they are at an MLB high $238M already (not that they haven’t spent well; they have by far baseballs best record)

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2018

#Phillies #RedSox #Astros #Mariners “in” on practically every reliever available from Kela to Barraclough to Rodney to Norris to Clippard to Yates to Romo to Stammen to Parker to Conley to Diekman to Ziegler should be an interesting last 36 hours until trade deadline 4pm et  Tues

— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) July 30, 2018

The Red Sox are said to have significant interest in San Diego Padres relievers Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates. Boston recently scouted both pitchers, according to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo. Stammen, who has posted a 2.63 ERA with 58 strikeouts on the season, and Yates, holding a 1.6 ERA with 50 K’s in 2018, are on affordable contracts. Stammen signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract before the season. Yates is earning just over $1 million and has a few arbitration trips remaining.

Bud Norris could be another target for Boston, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A free agent at the end of the year, Norris has registered a 3.14 ERA with a 41 percent ground-ball rate with the St. Louis Cardinals this season.

Bud Norris is having arguably the best season of his career. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Miami Marlins reliever Brad Ziegler has also been linked to the Red Sox. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports that Ziegler (3.98 ERA) has received interest from the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians, as well. He is also a free agent at season’s end.

The Red Sox boast a 74-33 record and a 5.5 game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East. They are on pace to win 112 games, which would be their fourth 100-win season in franchise history and first since 1946. The 1912 Red Sox hold the team-record for most wins in a season with 106.

But the postseason presents another challenge for a Boston team that has won just one playoff contest in their last two playoff series. Given the recent struggles of Joe Kelly, adding another arm in the pen may be necessary to get the Red Sox over the hump in late-October.  

Yankees Starters Flop in First Test vs Red Sox

            The New York Yankees had their pitching rotation’s purported top-3 starters—Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and Sonny Gray—aligned for their midweek series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

            All three fell flat on their faces versus their division rivals.

            Severino, the ace of the staff, relinquished five runs in five innings in the series opener. After posting a 1.38 ERA in his first two starts, he allowed a run to score in the first and three more in the second frame as Boston cruised to an eventual 14-1 victory.

Severino had a disappointing outing versus the Red Sox on Tuesday. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

            Aaron Boone, the rookie manager, even suggested the 24-year-old Severino may have been tipping his pitches.

             "We've addressed certain things in the past," Boone told The New York Post. "We've noticed things from time to time. We're always as vigilant as we can be with what he may or may not be doing."

            Although the Yankees won the next game—a contest highlighted by the brawl sparked by Boston’s reliever Joe Kelly and New York’s Tyler Austin—Tanaka was far from sharp on the mound. After the offense gifted him an 8-1 lead, Tanaka let the Red Sox back in striking distance after surrendering a grand slam to Red Sox newcomer J.D. Martinez in a five-run fifth inning. Tanaka managed to get the win, despite giving up six runs in five innings, but the Yankees couldn’t have been encouraged by his performance.

            Gray had the worst showing of the three. He gave up six runs and only lasted three innings, forcing the bullpen into a heavy duty day of work. The relievers registered five scoreless innings, but Gray dug the Yankees too big of a hole to recover as a late rally in the ninth fell short in a 6-3 defeat.

Gray struggled at a rainy Fenway Park on Thursday night. (Winslow Townson/AP)

            Boone recognized Gray’s struggles and noted how the right-hander will be a determining factor in the Yankees success this season.

            “It’s frustrating because he’s really important for us and we know what he’s capable of,” Boone said. “He’s coming off an outing where he gave us six strong innings and we feel like it will turn around for him, but tonight wasn’t the night.”

            The rotation was not expected to be the strong suit of the Yankees. The strengths of this team lie in the power hitting of the middle of the lineup and its top-notch bullpen. But the Yankees’ rotation can’t be this weak of a link if they are truly to contend for a championship.

          The starters have to perform better than this, especially against a Red Sox club that figures to be the Yankees’ biggest competition in the American League East.

Boston Red Sox 2015 All-Star Break Grades: Starting Rotation

Clay Buchholz

In his first seven starts, Buchholz’s ERA inflated to 5.73. But he looked like an ace in his next 10 starts, posting a 1.99 ERA while helping the Boston Red Sox stay in striking ground of the mediocre AL East race. But the often-hurt Buchholz (7-7, 3.26 ERA) landed on the disabled list again and there is no telling if he will be able to regain his form in his return to the mound.

Grade: B

Rick Porcello

There is no bigger disappointment in baseball than Porcello. Expected to fortify an ace-less Boston rotation, Porcello (5-9) owns the highest ERA (5.90) in the American League. The right-hander signed a four year, $82.5 million contract extension before the year began and has rewarded Boston with his worst year of his career.

Grade: F

Eduardo Rodriguez

The 22-year-old left-hander who was acquired in the trade that sent Andrew Miller to the Baltimore Orioles last July has looked dominant in seven of his nine starts. If his two horrific starts—June 14 (9 ER in 4.2 innings in loss versus Toronto Blue Jays) and June 25 (6 ER in 2.2 innings in loss to Orioles)—were excluded from his stats, Rodriguez would own a 5-0 record with a 1.22 ERA. Rodriguez (5-2, 3.59 ERA) looked sharp in his first start against the New York Yankees, picking up a victory in a contest in which he surrendered only two runs in 6.2 innings.

Grade: B+

Wade Miley

Miley’s meltdown against the Orioles showed he was an emotionally weak player. Miley’s 3.39 walks per nine innings rate ranks sixth worst in the league. He hasn’t been an innings-eater as advertised but has managed to salvage his season with decent numbers at home, particularly against left-handed batters.

Grade: C-

Joe Kelly

Kelly asserted he would win the American League Cy Young before the season began. He is currently stuck in the minors.

Grade: F

Justin Masterson

Not much was expected of the former All-Star this season. Nonetheless, the Red Sox had hoped for more than what Masterson—who spent half of the season in the minors/on the disabled list—provided in nine woeful starts. Masterson, who owns a horrific 6.00 ERA, will look to stick on the major-league roster as a long reliever.

Grade: D

Steven Wright

The 30-year-old knuckleballer looked decent in four starts (11 appearances overall) for the Red Sox this season. Wright (3-2, 4.15 ERA) should see more MLB action in the second half of the season with Buchholz on the disabled list for an undisclosed amount of time.

Grade: C+

Boston Red Sox 2015 All-Star Break Grades: Front Office/Management

John Farrell and Ben Cherington have overseen Boston's disastrous first half of the season. (Barry Chin/Boston Globe)

Owner John Henry
Henry was the leading force behind the signings of Hanley Ramirez (4 years, $88 million) and Pablo Sandoval (5 years, $95 million) this offseason, and right now both deals look like duds for the Boston Red Sox. Henry pushed for the two free agent splashes in an effort to increase ticket sales and TV ratings. The Red Sox may be selling more tickets than last year's last-place catastrophe but the team is back in the basement in the AL East thanks to the less-than-stellar performances by their lucrative free agent expenditures. Sandoval is batting just .265 with limited power (7 HRs and 30 RBIs) and has the second-worst fielding percentage among starting third basemen in the American League. And lets not forget he was caught liking a photo on Instagram mid-game. Ramirez, meanwhile, has looked awful in the outfield, runs the bases like a Little League player and managed just one RBI in the month of July. Ramirez has cranked 16 home runs and has been strong at the plate of late, but signing him was a huge risk because of his limitations in the field. He should be a full-time designated hitter—a slot that won't open up until after David Ortiz (who refuses to play first base on a regular basis) retires.

Grade: D-

GM Ben Cherington
As noted above, it was Henry who wanted to bring Ramirez and Sandoval to town. Nonetheless, Cherington is responsible for the trade that netted Joe Kelly and Allen Craig, both players that have been subjected to the minor leagues . Rusney Castillo, the so-called Cuban sensation who received a seven-year, $72.5 million contract this winter, was sent back to the minors after posting an awful slash line of .233/.263/.288. Castillo's woes fall on Cherington, who expected the Cuban outfielder to jumpstart a Red Sox offense that was horrific in 2014. But Cherington's most inexcusable mistake? Signing Rick Porcello to a four year, $82.5 million contract extension that runs through the 2019 season before the right-hander threw a single pitch for Boston (and yet the team refused to give Jon Lester the money he deserved during contract negotiations last regular season). The mid-season pickup of Alejandro De Aza has been a gem and the development of youngsters Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Eduardo Rodriguez has been encouraging, but too many of Cherington's moves have backfired for the Red Sox.

Grade: C-

Manager John Farrell
The Red Sox players have lost track of outs, Sandoval used his bathroom break to go on Instagram and the team shows no willpower against adversity. All of the aforementioned issues fall on Farrell. He also said he "respected" Wade Miley for throwing a tantrum on the mound in a game the disappointing left-hander crapped the bed in a loss against the Baltimore Orioles. From afar, it appears Farrell has lost complete control of the locker room.

Grade: D

John Lackey for Joe Kelly/Allen Craig Trade has had Nightmarish Results for Red Sox

            The trade that sent John Lackey to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joe Kelly and Allen Craig looks shoddier by the day. The Boston Red Sox dealt Lackey—the No. 2 starter in its World Series championship team in 2013—at the trade deadline in last year’s turbulent season with the aim of building for the future. However, neither Kelly nor Craig has yielded any positive results for Boston.

             Kelly (2-5) boldly proclaimed he would win the American League Cy Young this season. Kelly's prediction has burnt into flames. The right-hander was optioned to Pawtucket following another dismal performance in Tuesday night’s loss—surrendering five runs on eight hits in just 3.2 innings of work in the 6-4 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles.

Safe to say Joe Kelly won't be winning the AL Cy Young this season. (Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

            Now holding the third-worst ERA (5.67) in the American League, Kelly has been demoted to the minors—an embarrassing moment for the 27-year-old who grabbed a headset from WEEI’s broadcast setup during the Red Sox’s Winter Weekend at Foxwoods and spontaneously announced, “I want your listeners to know, I’m going to win the Cy Young this year. Just letting everyone know so when I win it you heard it here first.”

            Instead of competing for the Cy Young race, Kelly has been shipped down to Triple-A, where his biggest enjoyment could be sharing a dugout with his longest-standing teammate and fellow disappointment, Allen Craig. The first baseman/outfielder, Craig hasn’t seen action in the big leagues since May 9. He played woefully for the Red Sox in his short stay in the majors this season, batting .135 with one home run and a pair of runs batted in.

            Craig has seen a steep decline since being a major factor of the St. Louis Cardinals’ championship season in 2011. That regular season he hit 315/.362/.555 with a .917 OPS. He hit four home runs in the postseason—three coming in the World Series against the Texas Rangers, including one in the title-clinching Game 7 victory for St. Louis.

            The following season Craig hit 22 home runs and recorded 92 RBIs. He earned a five year, $31 million contract in the offseason. Craig made his first All-Star appearance in 2013. He batted .375 in the World Series against Boston.

            Nagging foot problems, though, have crippled his once-promising career. Craig hit a combined .237 for the Cardinals before being traded to the Red Sox last season. As a member of the Red Sox, he started just eight games and batted .135 in 59 plate appearances.

            Since his demotion to Triple-A this May, Craig has hit .290 with a .429 on-base percentage, .403 slugging percentage and .832 OPS. But the right-handed hitter—once known for his power at the plate—has registered only eight extra-base hits (five doubles and three homers). Manager John Farrell still believes Craig isn’t ready to return to the majors, a concerning sign for a player that is under contract in Boston through 2017, and making $25 million in that time span.

            It’s anyone’s guess as to which player has the ability to turn his career around. Skepticism has begun to arise among league executives and scouts with regards to Kelly's and Craig's ability to ever contribute on a regular basis for a MLB team. The Red Sox, though, maintain their hope that both Kelly and Craig can produce for the team in the near future. Lackey certainly has been productive since Boston washed their hands of him. The 36-year-old right-hander posted a 3.46 ERA in two starts for the Cardinals in the 2014 playoffs and currently owns a 3.35 ERA.

            Some believe Kelly has a better chance to right his career ship. He is better off as a power pitcher that relies on his velocity, rather than operating as a finesse hurler. His inconsistencies, however, have led many to believe he won’t amount to anything more than a mediocre No. 4 starter at best. There are others who surmise Craig has a better chance of turning his two-year slump around because of his past success. The detractors of Craig, however, will point to his career demise since his foot issues arose.

           The optimistic Red Sox fans—if any still exist—hope both Kelly and Craig become effective MLB players. As of now, the Lackey for Kelly and Craig swap has been an utter failure for the Red Sox, who traded for two players currently in the minors in exchange for a veteran who has pitched in two decisive World Series contests.