The historic London Series is only a matter of hours away. Here is the Bat Flips and Nerds player preview for some of the relief pitchers we will see in action for the Red Sox.
RED SOX BULLPEN
Matt Barnes
Team: Boston Red Sox
Height: 193cm (6’ 4”)
Age: 28
Bats: Right-handed
From: Connecticut, USA
2019 salary: $1.6 million (two years of arbitration remaining. Free agent in 2022)
The Red Sox took Matt Barnes with their first-round pick in the 2011 draft, and although he regularly featured high in prospects lists, his progression through the minors wasn’t always easy.
However, since transitioning from starter to reliever, Barnes has become an integral part of the Red Sox roster. He has also become a workhorse, appearing in 228 games since he joined the bullpen in 2016; no-one else comes close.
With a strikeout rate of over 16 SO/9, the right-hander is the most dominant reliever in Boston’s pen and is the one most likely to get the ball in a save situation in London.
Ryan Brasier
Team: Boston Red Sox
Height: 183cm (6’ 0”)
Age: 31
Bats: Right-handed
From: Texas, USA
2019 salary: $0.57 million (pre-arbitration eligible)
The Red Sox decision not to resign Craig Kimbrel, one of the best closers in the game, during the offseason was made easier by the emergence of Ryan Brasier as an elite relief pitcher. Last year, Brasier made 34 appearances from the bullpen with 1.60 ERA and just 0.77 WHIP.
Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 2007, Brasier was a solid pitcher in the minors, but it took a two-year stint in Japan to help create the impressive player that he is today.
The 31-year-old leads the Red Sox in saves although he hasn’t quite recaptured his 2018 form.
Brandon Workman
Team: Boston Red Sox
Height: 196cm (6’ 5”)
Age: 30
Bats: Right-handed
From: Texas, USA
2019 salary: $1.15 million (Free agent at the end of the season)
The veteran pitcher is enjoying an excellent start to 2019 with 1.75 ERA and a WHIP around 1.00.
Workman was omitted from the Red Sox World Series winning roster, mainly due to the lack of left-handed pitchers they had available. This is a problem again this season, with all four players mentioned here being righties.
Although missing the World Series was a tough blow to Workman, he already has a championship ring from 2013 when his seven scoreless appearances proved pivotal.
To outsiders, the Texan appears subdued & silent, but his teammates describe him as the foul-mouthed, trash-talking stirrer of the Red Sox. But they love him all the same.
Marcus Walden
Team: Boston Red Sox
Height: 183cm (6’ 0”)
Age: 30
Bats: Right-handed
From: California, USA
2019 salary: $0.55 million (pre-arbitration eligible)
There are few things in baseball more likely to raise a smile than a 30-year-old rookie. A player who has spent years riding the bus and toiling in the minors, before finally getting their shot at the big time.
After 824 innings in the minor leagues covering 12 years, Walden could have been forgiven for thinking that his MLB debut would never come. In fact, after a stint in Indie Ball in 2015 and the financial pressures that accompanied it, the right-hander was looking to quit to find another job. His wife Nichole, pregnant with their first child, said “No way, not a chance” and that proved to be the encouragement he needed to carry on.
Walden referred to himself as a “phantom Major Leaguer” having spent five days (four games) on the Toronto Blue Jays 25-man roster in 2014 without throwing a pitch.
Even if the nine appearances for the Red Sox in 2018 had been the extent of his career, it would still have been a fairy tale ending, but Walden has been on fire from the bullpen this season with a 6-0 record and more than a strikeout per inning.
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