It’s the bottom of the eighth inning and the Boston Red Sox are up 4-0. Everything is clicking; the Tampa Bay Rays only have one hit with six outs to go.
Joe Kelly takes the hill. Walk, uh oh. Strikeout, phew. Double, walk, walk. 4-1 Red Sox with the bases loaded, and Kelly exits in favor of Carson Smith.
This is where Craig Kimbrel has to start warming up. Instead, he sits, and five more runs cross the plate. The Red Sox lose, 6-4.
“I think there’s going to be certain situations that you’re going to see [Kimbrel] probably earlier than what people expect,” Alex Cora said during the Winter Meetings.