The Red Sox appear to be conceding the bullpen arms race in the AL East.
After the Yankees reportedly signed reliever Adam Ottavino on Thursday, adding him to a bullpen that features Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, Chad Green and Zach Britton, Red Sox decision-makers were asked why they haven’t made a move for a closer to keep pace with their division rival.
"People get caught up obviously in what New York is doing,” Boston manager Alex Cora said (via the team’s official website). “We knew that they were going to make moves. They have a great bullpen, obviously. But we have a great rotation. It balances out. Our strength is the rotation. If that's the only question mark we have, so be it."
With the addition of Ottavino, four of the top 15 strikeout artists in MLB bullpens last year now pitch for the Yankees.
Familiar face and All-Star Craig Kimbrel is still available as a free agent, but president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the team won’t "have a high expenditure in our closer situation.”
"Sometimes you have to evaluate where you're going to spend your dollars," Dombrowski said Thursday. "We decided to keep back the rest of the core of the club. We like our team a great deal, and we think some of the guys internally can do the job. Can we get better? Perhaps. We'll see what takes place in that regard."
Former Indians closer Cody Allen could be a value option for Boston if they decide to dip into the free agent market, but he's rumored to have a one-year deal in place with the Angels. Or, Cora could elevate a middle reliever into the ninth-inning role.
"I mean, we've got some capable guys," Cora said. “We can maximize the guys that we have.”
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