Three recommendations for the Red Sox -- not that they asked -- as they get a day off between series in Atlanta and Arlington.
1) Make John Schreiber the closer.
Alex Cora has said since spring training that it's his wish for one reliever to step forward and lay claim to the closer's role. It was Cora' hope that Matt Barnes would be that person, but that hasn't happened for obvious reason: Barnes still has mechanical issues to work though and he's yet to recover the velocity he showed in past seasons.
In the meantime, six different Red Sox relievers have earned saves. Tellingly, not one of them has earned a second one. The Sox lead the league in blown saves and in particular, blown saves from the ninth inning and later.
Over the last week, Schreiber has pitched in four late-inning high-leverage spots. Here are his combined numbers in those outings: 4.2 IP, 2 H, O R, 0 BB, 5 K.
Do four appearances guarantee future success? Of course not. And it's worth noting that Schreiber is 28 and has all of 35 career major league appearances. The game is full of pitchers who have a few good weeks, or even months, never to be heard from again.
But at this point, frankly, what do the Red Sox have to lose? The amorphous back end of their bullpen has resulted in no stability, and worse, little success. Sometimes, closers can emerge from the unlikeliest places. (And good day to you, Koji Uehara).
By installing Schreiber in that role, Cora can then begin to work backwards, and determine how he wants the rest of the pieces to fit together. The more structure he can find, the better.
Of course, there are other challenges. Because Schreiber is here, officially, as a replacement for Rich Hill (COVID-ineligible), he's not yet on the Red Sox 40-man roster. When Hill returns, if the Sox want Schreiber to remain, that will have to change. But surely, they can create room for a guy who's deserving of a spot.
Schreiber has consistently throws strikes, and that skill alone puts him well ahead of the likes of Jake Diekman and Hansel Robles. His three-quarter delivery makes him an uncomfortable at-bat, especially righthanded hitters. And while he doesn't throw 98 mph, he throws hard enough to gets swings and misses and keeping the ball out of play is always a desirable outcome for closers.
And if the experiment doesn't work, it's won't be catastrophic. But at this point, why not give Schreiber an opportunity?
2) Reduce playing time for Kike Hernandez.
While some fans rail about the lack of production from Jackie Bradley Jr., Hernandez has actually been a worse offensive performer. His slash line of .161/.232/..259 tells the story. And if that doesn't, then how about his OPS+ of 44.
It's not like Hernandez is running into bad luck. His hard-hit ball rate is at 26.7 percent, well below the league average of 38.7 percent.
Worse, for lack of any other options, Hernandez was recently re-installed as the team's leadoff hitter. In that time, he's gone 0-for-13 with one walk. He is without a hit in his last 20 at-bats.
So who plays more if Hernandez plays less? That's where it gets tricky.
Sure, the Sox could slide Bradley Jr. back to center, but that just creates an opening in right field and accomplishes little. Playing Christian Arroyo everyday in right field isn't the solution.
The best option might be recalling Jarren Duran and seeing if he can inject some life into the lineup. When Duran "tripled" last week -- it should have been a single and two-base error -- the sight of motoring around the bases infused Fenway with some honest-to-goodness excitement.
I'm still not sure if Duran is ready to play regularly at the big league level. His near-constant swing adjustments have served to confuse him, it would seem, and suggest some uncertainty about what kind of player he can be.
But again, there's limited risk here. The Sox are getting virtually nothing from Hernandez. By this time next week, the season will be almost a quarter complete. Waiting for Hernandez to snap to life at the plate has become pointless.
3) Move Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck to the bullpen.
Both pitchers, for now, offer more value in relief. Whitlock, in particular, can help the Sox more pitching two innings three times a week than he can providing five or six innings as a starter twice every 10 days. Had the Sox not been forced to shift him to the rotation, it's likely his presence would have resulted in a few more protected late-inning leads. The same goes for Houck, whose command, for whatever reason, appears to be better in relief.
Other than Nate Eovaldi, the Red Sox don't have a starter who can regularly get them through six innings or more. That highlights the need to have a reliable reliever provide two innings or so to get them to the late innings. With both Whitlock and Houck, the Sox can have one or the other available almost every day.
This will leave a vacancy in the rotation, but the Sox have some options at Worcester. Josh Winckowski is one, and Connor Seabold is another. Seabold is 26 years old, so this wouldn't exactly qualify as throwing him unprepared into the deep end. He's been dominant at Triple A (2.93 ERA, 1.043 WHIP over six starts).
It's time to see if that translates to the big leagues. Slotting him as the No. 5 starter would seem to be the perfect entry point for him.
