CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Gabe Kapler has offered a few hints at how he might use his bullpen in 2018.
He has preached flexibility, and how he prefers his relievers be open to pitching in any inning. But he also said he understands the importance of roles, and how relief pitchers crave their routines.
"We still want to be creative," Kapler said Wednesday afternoon at Carpenter Complex. "We still have a mindset that we want our pitchers to come in thinking of themselves as high-leverage, important-to-every-game relievers. And then use them according to the best possible matchup, and the most important moments of the game.