State of the Red Sox: Bullpen

We’ve looked at every position on the field, and we’ve examined the starting rotation, so what’s left in our State of the Red Sox series is the bullpen. It’s a group that has a standout in the ninth inning and a long list of options for the middle innings. It performed well last season, but still carries significant uncertainty into this season.

Closer

Craig Kimbrel

Baseball has come to more fully appreciate relief pitchers who do not pitch the ninth inning, but bullpen attention still tends to focus on closers, and the Red Sox have one of the best in the business. Kimbrel has been an all-star in six of his seven full seasons, but last season was one of his very best. He set a new career-high…