McAdam: Is Steven Wright the eighth-inning answer for the Red Sox?

ATLANTA -- If Alex Cora's first season in the Red Sox dugout has taught us anything, it's this: assume nothing.

Nobody expected Hanley Ramirez to be released in the last week of May. No one thought Eduardo Nunez would be the starting third baseman in September. And no one could have predicted a scenario where Blake Swihart would be part of a crowded three-man catching rotation.

So, again: Cora isn't afraid to surprise people and be unorthodox.

Which is why, with less than four weeks to go in the regular season, the bullpen usage bears watching.

Earlier in the season, Joe Kelly was the primary choice for the eighth inning. When Kelly stumbled in June and July, Matt Barnes got most of those opportunities. But as happened last year, Barnes has suffered a second-half drop-off in his performance, compiling a 7.94 ERA.

How radical would it be to see how Steven Wright does in that role?

Yes, in an era in which late-inning relievers typically throw 96 mph and higher, using a knuckleballer for that job would be unconventional. But that's part of its appeal, as we'll see in a minute.

But there's a more obvious reason to look at Wright: he's pitched extremely well out of the bullpen this season, albeit in a rather limited sample size. In eight appearances out of the bullpen -- including a scoreless sixth inning Tuesday night -- Wright has a 2.00 ERA.

Cora previously said he'd be open to using Wright in high-leverage spots upon his activation from the DL. To date, it hasn't happened, but Cora did say that he would want Wright to get acclimated to pitching in relief again before putting him in such a big spot.

Wright, for his part, would welcome the challenge.

"It's exciting (to think of the prospect),'' he said. "For me, obviously, I just wanted to get back out there (after missing two months with a knee injury). I have to throw strikes. That's big for anybody, but especially for me as a knuckleballer because I don't have anything else to fall back on. So, I have to throw the knuckleball for strikes, change speeds with it and mix in fastballs when I can. If I do get in when it's late in the game, I just have to attack the (strike) zone.''

The concern, naturally, is that the knuckleball can be notoriously unpredictable, leading to wild pitches and passed balls at a time when, by definition, the game is likely to be close.

"Obviously, there's a risk factor with the ball getting away,'' acknowledged Wright. "But if they're catching every ball clean, most likely, they're not going to be catching many of them.''

Translation: if the pitch isn't moving, it may be easier to handle, but it's also a batting practice-speed fastball that hitters are going to wallop. And Wright has developed confidence in all three of the Red Sox catchers to track and receive his signature pitch. And while there would ordinarily be concern about the ease with which baserunners steal on a knuckleballer, Wright has made it a project to control the running game.

"That's on me, in terms of holding the ball, changing my times, making sure I'm quick to the plate,'' he said, "and giving them enough time to catch the ball and make the throw.''

But Wright's chief appeal in the role -- beyond how well he's pitched in relief -- is that he would provide a far different look than other Red Sox relievers. To a man -- from Barnes to Kelly to Brandon Workman -- almost every Red Sox reliever uses primarily a fastball/curveball combination. After a while, that makes it easier for opposing hitters to make adjustments in the late innings, given that the repertoires are largely the same.

Wright, on the other hand, would provide a massive contrast to both the hard-throwing starters like Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez who come before him, as well as the flame-throwing closer, Craig Kimbrel, who would follow him in the ninth.

Given the ramped up velocities of many major league pitchers, that contrast has never been more stark.

"It's so different,'' said Wright. "Guys are throwing so much harder on average, so when you have a knuckleballer coming in throwing 75-78 mph, it's definitely an adjustment. And if (the knuckler) is working, I think it's a huge asset because it's such a different look. Whether I go in for a batter of a couple innings, it makes the people behind me play up because it's just so a different look. And with (fellow knuckleballer) R.A. (Dickey) retiring, it's not like most hitters have experience with the pitch. They don't see it, so I can feel it can be very effective in the late innings of a game because they're used to seeing 100 mph.''

Out-of-the-box thinking? Sure.

But it wouldn't be the first time that Cora chose to act on that. And with three-and-a-half weeks remaining in the season, there's time to see if the experiment works.