Relief pitchers are increasingly like NFL running backs -- their performances can have high impact, sometimes for a relatively short window of time, and they are mostly compensated as if they are disposable. Teams will search for just the right bullpen piece, and when they find him, he'll get the ball time and again until he breaks or struggles ... and then the team moves on to find another reliever.
The volatility of bullpens is legendary. The Cleveland Indians rode relievers Cody Allen, Andrew Miller and Bryan Shaw to within one win of a World Series title in 2016, and in less than two years, Shaw was struggling for the Rockies after departing as a free agent, Allen was fighting to keep his closer job with the Indians and Miller was working through injuries.
At the outset of the 2018 postseason, the Red Sox relief corps was the team's greatest uncertainty -- and by the end of October, these pitchers were postseason heroes getting sized up for championship rings.
You'll forgive Red Sox manager Alex Cora, then, if he won't overreact to the events of the winter.
With Craig Kimbrel (who remains unsigned) and Joe Kelly (Dodgers) departed as free agents, Boston doesn't have obvious replacements to take over the responsibility of the eighth and ninth innings. But the Red Sox do feel they have good candidates to step into those roles, as well as some interesting alternatives to round out their bullpen. They signed former Met Jenrry Mejia, who had been banned for life after three PED busts but received a conditional reinstatement.
Meanwhile, the relief groups of the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays -- the Rays being that 90-win team almost everybody seems to overlook, other than the front offices in Boston and the Bronx -- appear to be loaded. The Yankees signed Adam Ottavino and brought back Zach Britton to join Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, Chad Green and others.
The Red Sox have some questions to sort through in spring training, including the status of Dustin Pedroia, who wants to be ready for Opening Day. But a lot of what the exhibition season will be about will be sorting through relief options:
Durbin Feltman, a 21-year-old right-hander taken in the third round of last summer's draft out of Texas Christian. The Red Sox limited him to 23⅓ innings in his first year as a pro, following the grind of his college season, but he could jump quickly to the big leagues. He had 36 strikeouts and five walks last season, with an unusual and seemingly deceptive delivery that might make it more difficult for hitters to make solid contact against him. He throws a fastball with heavy, downward movement and a slider.
Travis Lakins, a 24-year-old right-hander who has yet to appear in a big league game. He was a starting pitcher in his first seasons in the Boston organization after being drafted in the sixth round -- and last season, he responded well after he was shifted into a relief role. He has a good cutter to complement his fastball, and while he has a nice changeup, the Red Sox are likely to ask him to focus on his two primary pitches. The organization has been impressed with his conditioning work this winter.
Colten Brewer, a 26-year-old right-hander. The Red Sox tried to sign Brewer as a minor league free agent in the 2017-18 offseason, but he landed with the Padres instead. Boston's analytics group likes some of the fastball data on Brewer, who throws a natural, hard cut fastball that moves right to left. The Red Sox tried to trade for Brewer last summer -- and were rebuffed. Brewer pitched in 11 games for San Diego last season, but as the Padres sorted through some 40-man roster concerns in November, they traded him to the Red Sox.
Tyler Thornburg, 30-year-old right-hander with a long history of injury. Since trading Travis Shaw to the Brewers for Thornburg, the Red Sox have gotten almost no return -- 24 innings in two years, with six homers, 28 hits and 15 runs. But Thornburg has demonstrated in the past that when healthy, he can be tough against lefties (.130 average in 2016) as well as right-handers.
Last spring, the Red Sox auditioned a 30-year-old minor league free agent who had pitched overseas, and as Cora watched from the dugout, he mentioned to staffers he thought the guy on the mound might help during the season. And he did: Ryan Brasier had a 1.60 ERA in 34 games, and then after a shaky first postseason outing, he pitched well in October. Brasier will serve as a setup man or closer for Boston in 2019.
There is some luck involved when a team gets the kind of surprising return Boston got from Brasier, because a lot of power arms, and a lot of minor league free agents, simply don't work out. Most of them, in fact.
But of all the position groups in baseball, the relievers can appear (and disappear) more quickly than any others; a perceived weakness can quickly become a strength, or vice versa. The Red Sox need to find solutions in their camp to have a shot at becoming the first team in two decades to win back-to-back titles.