Red Sox Bullpen Rebuild Underway

The Red Sox are finally acknowledging what we’ve all known for a while: the 2022 Red Sox bullpen was/is a disaster.

The #RedSox today announced the following roster moves:

Recalled RHP Kaleb Ort from Triple-A Worcester.

Selected RHP Zack Kelly from Worcester.

Designated LHP Austin Davis and RHP Hirokazu Sawamura for assignment.

— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 29, 2022

Boston should also cut bait with Ryan Brasier while they’re at it and bring up Frank German and Eduard Bazardo — really lean into it.

But better to admit a problem last minute than never acknowledge it.

Red Sox’ Bullpen Weak, Chaotic

The Red Sox front office built a bullpen on pure hope and best-case scenarios. Instead of solidifying the late innings, the Red Sox banked on Matt Barnes returning to form. They banked on Brasier’s and Hansel Robles‘s stretch runs carrying over from last season. Boston relied on Jake Diekman to be the pitcher he was in 2019.

None of those scenarios happened.

Of the ten relievers on the opening day roster, only four remain. Robles, Hirokazu Sawamura, Austin Davis, and Phillips Valdez were designated. Diekman was traded, and Kutter Crawford moved to the rotation.

The Red Sox bullpen has been in flux all season. Nineteen pitchers have made an appearance out of Boston’s bullpen. John Schreiber is on the roster only because things went south quickly early. The bullpen sort of stabilized, at least for a short time, after he arrived and after Tanner Houck became the “closer.”

Injuries to Garrett Whitlock, Matt Strahm, Houck, and four of the Red Sox’ five starters haven’t done the bullpen any favors. Since June 27, Red Sox relievers have the most innings pitched and the highest ERA in MLB. An already weak and unsettled bullpen has been overexposed.

Alex Cora has used Whitlock and Schreiber more than anyone else since the All-Star break to try to win every game possible. That strategy hasn’t done Schreiber well.

The 2022 Red Sox bullpen has been an arm or two short from the jump and has only worsened since the trade deadline. (Remember when there were too many left-handers?) Houck is out for basically the rest of the season, but Barnes has finally figured out how to pitch again. Schreiber is on fumes. Jeurys Familia? Really?

Boston has 23 blown saves this season. Robles still leads the team with six; Strahm has four; Brasier and Diekman both have three. Barnes and Schreiber have two, and Davis, Houck, and Whitlock all have one.

Imagine where the Red Sox would be today had the front office been even slightly more aggressive in building this bullpen.

Davis and Sawamura Cut From Red Sox Bullpen Equation

They’re a few weeks late in moving on from this season and looking at who in Worcester could potentially help the Red Sox in 2023. Boston absolutely should have gone all out with the bullpen purge, but cutting Sawamura and Davis loose is at least a start.

Davis Was One of Few Good Arms but Fell Off

The Red Sox acquired Austin Davis in a trade with the Pirates last season that sent Michael Chavis to Pittsburgh. The left-hander had a 4.86 ERA/3.95 FIP over 16.2 innings with the Red Sox in 2021 but held left-handed batters to a .149/.263/.340/.604 line. Nothing unique but still valuable.

Davis was a different pitcher for the first few months of this season. He increased his changeup usage drastically to go with the fastball and slider, and his fastball velocity also ticked up. He became one of the best relievers in the Red Sox bullpen through July 7, as a result. Through July 7, Davis had a 2.16 ERA and held opponents to a .202/.309/.294/.604 line over 33.1 innings.

He had an ERA over 10, and opponents hit .333/.416/.500/.916 against him over his final 21 innings with the Red Sox. He became that guy Cora went to pitch the last two-to-three innings of a game, allowing Boston to rest guys.

Davis’s drop-off can almost certainly be attributed to workload. Davis had the second-most appearances (50) this season; only Brasier has more (55).

Davis was claimed off waivers by the Twins.

Sawamura’s 2022 Season Was Puzzling

Hirokazu Sawamura is a different story. He was terrible all season, and a lot of what he did well in 2021 he wasn’t good at this year.

Sawamura had a 3.06 ERA over 53 innings last season and was great at getting out of jams, allowing only six of 35 inherited runners to score. He has a 3.73 ERA this year over 50.2 innings but has allowed 48 percent of inherited runners to score. He’s also terrible at home (5.83 ERA) this season when he was better at home (2.08 ERA) last season. His strikeout, chase, whiff, and barrel rates are much worse than last year.

The Red Sox already optioned Sawamura once this season, so designating him when he still had options speaks volumes. Boston now has an open spot for potentially another bullpen arm come September. Hopefully.

The right-hander was in the last year of a two-year, $2.4 million guarantee, including a team option for 2023.

Sawamura, Brasier, and Davis have allowed the highest percentages of inherited runners to score among the entire Red Sox bullpen. Diekman has the fourth highest percentage.

Sawamura cleared waivers and was sent to Worcester.

Finally, Fresh Faces for Red Sox Bullpen

Zack Kelly is an intriguing journeyman that figured something out since signing with the Red Sox last season. Might he be the next John Schreiber? Kaleb Ort, who we’ve seen briefly already this season, was the result of another Chaim Bloom raid on the Yankees. Ort has shown potential in his brief time in the Red Sox bullpen. Now he’ll get a proper audition.

Kelly Has Come a Long Way

Zack Kelly signed with the Athletics (3.77 ERA, 28.2 innings) as an undrafted free agent in 2017 for a measly $500. Oakland released him a year later then he caught on with the Angels. The right-hander reached Double-A in 2019 with the Angels (3.63 ERA, 21 games) but tore his UCL early in 2020 and was again released. He underwent elbow surgery but was throwing again by November 2020, and the Red Sox picked him up. Kelly had a 2.18 ERA over 36 games between Portland and Worcester last season and was re-signed shortly after the season. This season, he had a 2.72 ERA in 44 games with Worcester.

According to soxprospects.com‘s scouting report, Kelly’s fastball generates weak contact, sits 93-96 mph, and tops out at 98 mph. His changeup sits 80-82 mph and can miss some bats. He also features a slider and cutter but hasn’t used them much. And for Kelly to be successful, he needs better command, which has improved throughout this season. Therefore, he has the potential to be a solid middle reliever type.

The 27-year-old has pitched two scoreless innings out of the Red Sox bullpen with three strikeouts and no walks.

Ort, the Next Yankees Fleecing?

Kaleb Ort, like Kelly, also went undrafted and moved around before the Red Sox picked him up. Ort had a brief stint with the Diamondbacks in 2016 after pitching in Indy ball but was let go during camp that year. The Yankees signed him in 2017, and he reached Triple-A with them in 2019. The Sox selected him in the Minor League Rule 5 Draft in 2020. He had a 2.98 ERA in 45.1 innings with Worcester last season and a 2.88 ERA over 40.2 innings there in 2022.

He hasn’t had the same success yet in only 17 innings in Boston. With the Red Sox, he has 15 strikeouts, has walked nine, allowed 24 hits, and has a 7.94 ERA/4.07 FIP. Some of it’s adjusting to MLB, and some because he pitched during that dreadful July.

According to his scouting report, Ort’s fastball sits 93-96 mph, tops out at 98 mph, and can miss bats due to overpowering stuff more than command, which needs improvement. The slider sits 79-83 mph and has different shapes based on velocity. His ceiling is that of a mediocre reliever until he improves the command of his pitches.

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