Red Sox plan to attack eighth inning duties with group of relievers

FORT MYERS, Fla. – As far back as the winter meetings, Alex Cora revealed he was open to using closer Craig Kimbrel in a non-traditional way this season, perhaps having him pitch in high leverage situations other than the ninth inning.

It turns out that’s not the only change being contemplated when it comes to the bullpen.

Unlike in past seasons, the Red Sox don’t intend to have a single, designated eighth-inning man. Instead, the team plans to rotate as many as four different pitchers for that assignment, with decisions based on matchups and availability.

The Sox will have Carson Smith, Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes, and when he’s fully recovered, Tyler Thornburg, as part of the eighth-inning rotation.

“We have a lot of options available,’’ said pitching coach Dana LeVangie. “We have a deep bullpen. The more options you have, the easier it is to match up effectively. On any given day, you don’t know who might or might not be available, so we’ve got a lot of options.

“You want to play 162 (games) and more (in October). You can’t expect an eighth-inning guy to pitch six days a week. And the more options you have, the more protection you’re giving those guys so that when we get to August, they’re not worn out.’’

A key, both Cora and LeVangie agree, is communicating with the pitchers and letting them know when and how they might be used in a given game.

“We’re going to try to let these guys know, going into each series or each game, what they might have in the lineup and which innings,’’ said LeVangie. “You get in trouble when guys don’t know their role and they have to grind it out from the second inning through the ninth. That’s what we’re trying to eliminate.

“If you don’t plan ahead, then in the middle of the game you’re figuring it out on the fly and creating a lot of confusion down there. Those guys get anxious. So the more we can (schedule) them for specific innings or specific parts of the lineup, the more it helps.

“You can’t anticipate everything that’s going to come up. But I think we can talk it as a staff and sort of put it in their hands so they’re familiar when it comes up.’’

Given that starters are throwing fewer innings in the modern game and relievers are being asked to carry a bigger workload, the idea is preservation.

“The more options you have, it allows you to have a little bit of a rotation at times,’’ LeVangie said. “If you need to give a guy a breather for a day, the next guy steps in and he’s able to do the job.’’

It helps, too, to have a variety of styles and repertoires to present different looks to hitters, and help enhance matchups.

Kelly is a fastball-curve guy, while Smith is more of a sinker-slider type who is adept at inducing ground balls. Barnes profiles closer to Kelly, while Thornburg, once he’s sufficiently recovered from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, has a top-to-bottom curve and is notoriously effective against left-handed hitters.

“Variation is great,’’ said LeVangie. “Just knowing that Carson Smith can put out fires and get ground balls and turn double plays, maybe we’ll go into a game knowing that a certain guy is a heavy groundball hitter and it’s a great matchup and we can plan accordingly to get the right matchup to make it work. We might have a flyball hitter, then we have Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes and guys who can do things with curveballs and four-seam fastballs that work.’’

For their part, the relievers are on board with the eighth-by-committee approach.

“We have a lot of talent in our bullpen,’’ said Smith. “I think it’s a good problem to have, not knowing who your eighth inning has. (Cora) can rely on multiple guys down there and I think that’s a comfortable position to be in for a manager.  Just having the versatility is key for us – depending on who’s up, he’s going to have a lot of options to go to, depending on a hitter’s strengths or weaknesses.’’

Added Kelly: “We have the luxury of having (multiple) guys who have pitched late in games and finish games, so that’s kind of cool to see.’’