The Boston Red Sox are flooded with options for their closer’s spot.
Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow worked tirelessly in the offseason to make depth the team’s strong suit in multiple areas. That includes the bullpen. The Red Sox signed left-handers Justin Wilson and Aroldis Chapman, regained Liam Hendriks and extended non-roster invitations to multiple veterans, including Sean Newcomb, Adam Ottavino, Matt Moore and Isaiah Campbell.
Nothing’s official, however, Red Sox manager Alex Cora has begun giving the team’s closer’s role some thought with four weeks until Opening Day.
“We’ll get there when we get there. We have guys there who can do the job,” Cora said, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “Whit (Garrett Whitlock) always reminds me that he closed the Wild Card game a few years ago (in 2021). We’ll try to use him as a multi-inning guy. That’s what he does best.”
Cora continued: “At the end of the day, we’re going to have the lead in the ninth in Texas at one point, and somebody’s going to come in and save the game. Let’s see how it plays out.”
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Kenley Jansen, now a member of the Los Angeles Angels, filled the closer’s role for the past two seasons. Whitlock also hasn’t pitched out of the bullpen for the past three seasons, representing the lack of reliable options that Cora’s worked with recently. This time, the Red Sox have the opposite issue and instead of a clear-cut closer, multiple relief arms will showcase and compete before a final decision is made.
Chapman, a longtime flamethrower and future Hall of Fame candidate, drew some eyes after firing a 101 mph sinker during Wednesday’s 8-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at JetBlue Park. The 36-year-old, who signed a one-year, $10.75 million deal with Boston in December, is a leading candidate for the gig.
Then again, if Chapman wants to be the closer, he’ll have to earn it because Hendriks isn’t willing to sit back without a friendly fight.
Hendriks, who missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, debuted in the Grapefruit League and threw an inning after Chapman on Wednesday. The charismatic right-hander is embracing the current competition, and is willing to fill whatever role Cora deems will give the Red Sox the strongest chance to compete this upcoming season. But Hendriks still wants his shot.
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“I just want to be given an opportunity,” Hendriks said, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “If I win the job, I win the job. If I don’t win the job, I don’t win the job. It’s not going to change how I go about pitching. It’s not going to change my mentality towards anything. But fist-bumping in the seventh, it’s kind of like, ‘This guy is a knob.’ You fist bump at the end of a game, it’s more electric.”
Regardless of who takes the ball in the ninth inning for Boston, the team, coming off three straight postseason misses should take a huge step forward in 2025.
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