Cora not always willing to 'save' Kimbrel for ninth inning

FORT MYERS, Fla – A change in managers invariably means some changes in game management, and nowhere is that more evident for the 2018 Red Sox than in the bullpen.

In the first few months last year, John Farrell, not yet willing to entrust others in high leverage spots, sometimes had closer Craig Kimbrel serve as his own set-up man. Now, new manager Alex Cora may use Kimbrel even more unconventionally.

At the winter meetings in December, Cora first broached the idea of using Kimbrel in spots other than ninth-inning save situations. Rather than waiting to turn to Kimbrel for the final three outs, Cora plans to, at times, use him to get out of jams earlier in the game.

This isn’t necessarily a radical notion. Analytics proponents have been pushing the concept for some time, arguing that using your closer only for the final three outs is not the most efficient use of your best reliever.

In the 2016 World Series, for instance, Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona used Andrew Miller – admittedly, not his closer, but unquestionably his more fearsome bullpen weapon – as early as the fifth inning.

Most believe that such unorthodox methods have to be limited to the post-season, where every game result is intensely magnified.  Following the same strategy over the course of a six-month season could well jeopardize a pitcher’s health and effectiveness.

But Cora is willing to experiment at least somewhat this season. He won’t be bringing Kimbrel in for the fifth, or sixth. But it’s possible that the pitcher could see action in the seventh or eighth.

“When I feel the game is on the line,’’ explained Cora. “(His) idea of ‘game on the line’ might be different than mine. We’ll sit down and talk about it. I think he’ll understand where we’re coming from. As long as he’s healthy and can do it, we’ll be OK. We’ll see how it goes. But I have a pretty good idea about where and how.

“Usually, it’s a high-leverage situation, of course, because you’ve got the bases loaded and no outs. But sometimes, a high-leverage situation for me is nobody on, nobody out.’’

Kimbrel, who seemed somewhat circumspect about the change only last month at Foxwoods, sounded more on board with the concept Saturday.

“(A save) is a pretty stat,’’ he said, “but at the end of the day, it’s about winning and losing games.’’

As is the case for anything of this magnitude, communication is key.

“We (talked) in the off-season,’’ said Cora. “We’ll sit down throughout spring training, I’m sure. In the conversations, we’ll go over (various scenarios). In the end, we all have to be comfortable with what we decide we’re going to do. We’ll talk about that stuff. We’ll adjust, he’ll adjust and at the end, we’ll be on the same page and it’s going to be a good situation for everybody.’’

Complicating matters somewhat is the fact that Kimbrel is eligible for free agency after this season and he might want 35-40 saves on his resume as he goes onto the market.

Then again, the one position this past winter that seemed exempt from the free agent slowdown was relievers, who were aggressively pursued in November and December while starters and position players impatiently waited their turn.

“I think,’’ said Cora with a smile, “if he looks at the market this year and what happened with relievers, he’s in a good place.’’

For now, Kimbrel isn’t focused on the future. But he acknowledged that he’d be perfectly happy to remain with the Sox beyond 2018.

“I’d like to. I’ve enjoyed my time here in Boston. I’ve been a part of two winning teams and hopefully, three, after this year. You never know where life’s going to take you. Right now, I’m a Boston Red Sox and I’m happy to be a Boston Red Sox and I’m looking forward to this year.’’