With no true closer, the Red Sox have three in-house options for the ninth inning next season
It’ll be almost impossible to predict what the Red Sox bullpen will look like on Opening Day next season right now at the of December. Boston is rebuilding their bullpen with new additions in lefties Aroldis Chapman, Justin Wilson, and Jovani Morán and has no true closer to slam the door on opposing lineups in the ninth inning.
The Red Sox could give the ninth inning to three-time All-Star Liam Hendriks after signing him to a two-year, $10 million contract last February. Hendriks was unable make his Red Sox debut, missing the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He did make some appearances in the minors, completing a few rehab appearances but was shutdown due to a sore arm.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow expects Hendriks to come into spring training healthy and with no restrictions. Despite that, he would not necessarily name the veteran the team’s closer.
“We look at Liam as a guy who has been a very, very successful closer in this league for a really long time,” Breslow said earlier this month to Red Sox beat writers. “I don’t know that it would be fair in December to say that a guy who hasn’t thrown a big league pitch in over a year should be our closer today.
“We feel very comfortable and confident that if he is our closer, he’s going to do a great job.”
Hendriks was the A’s closer from 2019-2020, where he posted a sub-2.00 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP, converting 29 saves over a two-year span. He would join the White Sox ahead of the 2021 season, where he posted back-to-back seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA and 30-plus saves in both 2021 and 2022.
When healthy, Hendriks is an effective strikeout reliever, ranking in the 97th percentile in strikeout rate in his last four seasons, according to Baseball Savant.
If Hendriks doesn’t get the nod for the ninth inning, the Sox could turn to Chapman or even Justin Slaten.
Chapman agreed to a one-year, $10.75 million deal, giving Boston a hard-throwing left-hander for the backend of the bullpen.
The veteran southpaw has a history of pitching in high-leverage situations over the course of his career and will almost certainly be used in that capacity by Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “I feel like I don’t have any problem pitching in any kind of situation,” said Chapman. “I pretty much have been in every role in the bullpen. So, any time they need me, I’ll be ready to pitch.”
Chapman has 355 career saves under his belt and recently filled in the role of closer for the Pirates over the final two months of last season. The lefty finished the campaign with 14 saves and 98 strikeouts while posting a 3.79 ERA and 1.346 WHIP.
Slaten is an intriguing option after a successful rookie season, posting a 2.93 ERA, 2.61 FIP, and 1.01 WHIP with 58 strikeouts and two saves in 55 1/3 innings (44 games).
The righty had a strong 25.9% strikeout rate, ranking him in the 72nd percentile of league arms, which was paired with an impressive 4.0% walk rate, which was in the 97th percentile on Baseball Savant.
The only drawback to Slaten becoming the closer is his 2024 season is his only track record.
“They (Red Sox) took me in the Rule 5 draft, and they were like, ‘You know we didn't take you as a project; we took you because we think that you're someone that could come in and contribute,’” said Slaten on the “To the Show We Go”Baseball Podcast.
Slaten lived up to the expectations, and the Red Sox were rewarded for his impressive season. His pitch mix and results from last season paint the picture that he is up for the task of being the closer. Slaten has the makings to build upon last year, where he was a high-leverage reliever and could close in 2025. If he struggles, the Red Sox have two other in-house options in Chapman and Hendriks to slide right in.
Unless the Red Sox open their wallets and add the likes of Tanner Scott or even Jeff Hoffman in free agency.
