With the World Series underway, it’s time to break down each part of the Red Sox’ roster entering what should be a busy winter for new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. All week, we’ll be running a series analyzing each part of Boston’s roster. Next up, a look at Boston’s bullpen. You can read the breakdowns of the team’s catchers, infield and outfield as well.
WHERE DO THINGS STAND?
As a whole, the Red Sox’ pitching staff underwhelmed in 2023, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t bright spots. A major one was a settled, consistent back end of the bullpen that led the club to a 60-4 record when trailing after six innings. Shoring up the late part of the game was a major focus for ex-chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and it paid off.
The good news for the Red Sox is that all of the major pieces of their bullpen are under contract for 2024. Closer Kenley Jansen will return for the final year of his two-year, $32 million contract. So will setup man Chris Martin, who was absolutely elite last season. Two righties who broke out over the last two seasons, John Schreiber and Josh Winckowski, are still on the roster. So is left-hander Brennan Bernardino, who came out of nowhere to be an important part of the bullpen mix after the failed additions of veteran southpaws Richard Bleier and Joely Rodríguez.
With the above names still in the mix, Boston enters the winter with most of its bullpen picture already settled. There are other intriguing relief arms on the 40-man roster, though. Right-handers Zack Kelly and Nick Robertson and lefties Chris Murphy and Brandon Walter are among the optionable young arms who should be in the mix come spring training. Righty Mauricio Llovera is out of options but intrigued the Sox with some of his outings after being acquired from the Giants at the trade deadline. Other relief types like Justin Garza, Logan Gillaspie, Joe Jacques, the injured Wyatt Mills and Zack Weiss remain on the end of the roster but are in the mix to be cut as the Red Sox add others to the 40-man.
There are a few wild cards in the bullpen mix. It has been well-documented that righties Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck have bounced back and forth between rotation and bullpen roles throughout their careers and the feeling here is that’s about to change. At some point, the Red Sox have to make a call with those guys. Breslow, a known pitching guru, will have to make that assessment in time, and a lot of what happens with Whitlock and Houck depends on how the rest of the roster shakes out. There’s a chance, at least now, that both are in the bullpen, adding more high-octane stuff to a talented group. If the Red Sox go out and add multiple starters, that’ll likely be the case. Nick Pivetta is likely to start, barring a trade, but could also pitch in a hybrid role after thriving doing that throughout the summer.
WHAT’S COMING FROM THE MINORS?
Relief prospects are hard to project because most of the top pitching prospects in a given system are first tried as starters. In 2023, the Sox learned that Murphy and Walter, two of their top rotation prospects entering the season, are better as relievers. That seems to happen yearly throughout baseball.
Perhaps the most intriguing prospect the Red Sox have who could factor into their 2024 bullpen is Bryan Mata, the super-talented and oft-injured righty who will enter the year out of options. His future with the organization is unclear but if he shows the upside he has throughout his career, he’ll get ample chances.
Righty Luis Guerrero is a quick riser who might impact the majors soon. Ryan Fernandez and Justin Hagenman, acquired along with Robertson for Kiké Hernández at the deadline, are in that boat as well.
WHICH MOVES MIGHT THE RED SOX MAKE?
Unlike last winter, the Red Sox don’t need high-octane right-handed relief help for 2024. They’re more than set with Jansen, Martin, Schreiber, Winckowski and others like Kelly and Robertson in the mix. With that said, left-handed help will once again be a priority; a right-handed add would be a luxury, if anything.
The Sox used seven different left-handed relievers in 2023 (Bernardino, Bleier, Jacques, Murphy, Rodríguez, Walter and Ryan Sherriff) and only Bernardino, who held left-handed batters to a .459 OPS, separated himself from the pack. It’s likely they pursue at least one veteran lefty option in free agency. Josh Hader is probably a little too rich for Boston’s blood but Matt Moore, Aroldis Chapman, Wandy Peralta, Brent Suter, Scott Alexander, Amir Garrett, Will Smith and others will be available.
And here’s a thought: An outside-the-box way for Breslow to build a more functional roster could be to make a surprising trade from his strong group of back-end relievers. Would a team overpay for Martin after such a good year? Could Jansen be dealt with Martin sliding into the closer’s role? May selling high on someone like Winckowski make some sense? These are all questions the Red Sox should — and likely will — ponder. Their bullpen mix is in such a good spot that it can’t be ruled out.
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FINAL ANALYSIS:
Barring a big, creative move, any changes to the Red Sox’ bullpen before 2024 will likely happen on the edges of the roster. The time for major additions to the relief corps was last winter, and Bloom did just that by adding Jansen and Martin. Somewhat ironically, Breslow’s biggest bullpen-related task will likely be finding someone just like him: a veteran southpaw who can get outs as a complementary piece.
