Is JBJ Going To Have To Be Traded For Bullpen Help?

It’s officially the third day of the baseball season and the Red Sox have split the first two games.

Sounds like a good time to talk trades.

The Red Sox lost the opener because the bullpen could not hold the 4-0 lead that Chris Sale and the offense handed them.  One game is not a cause for concern in most cases but the most glaring weakness of this team is the bullpen, specifically the setup crew in front of All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel.

Dave Dombrowski added JD Martinez to bolster the offense and retained Eduardo Nunez for the same reason but he made no significant additions to the pitching staff.  Now, with Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Drew Pomeranz returning to the starting rotation it made sense not to tinker there but the bullpen was a different story and it already looks like that area is going to cause rookie manager Alex Cora headaches.

Other than Kimbrel, there’s no sure thing.  Matt Barnes has shown flashes of consistency but doesn’t come through enough to be relied upon to be the bridge to Kimbrel.  Carson Smith (2016) and Tyler Thornburg (2017) were added before each of the last two seasons to be prominent setup men but injuries have prevented that from happening.  Smith came back late last year but still doesn’t look like his former self - and aided in the Game 1 meltdown - and Thornburg has yet to ever pitch for the Red Sox.

It looks like at some point, sooner than later hopefully, Dombrowski will have to make a move to find an 8th inning reliever so the rest of the bullpen can settle into its roles.

The most likely trade chip, in my opinion, is Jackie Bradley Jr.  JBJ is a Gold Glove caliber center fielder who has shown he can hit for power but to gain a pitcher of value, Dombrowski will have to give up a player with value.  JBJ is expendable because Cora could shift JD Martinez to left field and slide Andrew Benintendi to center.  Sam Tarvis, currently at Pawtucket, could then split time between first base and designated hitter with Hanley Ranirez and Mitch Moreland.  Martinez did express a desire to continue to play the field when he signed with the Red Sox last month so moving him off of DH regularly should not be an issue for Cora.