With increasing reports that the Boston Red Sox will not sign Craig Kimbrel, the bullpen is likely to look drastically different in 2019. Joe Kelly has departed for Los Angeles and the Red Sox have signed several relievers to minor-league contracts.
But the team still has two under-the-radar options waiting in the minor leagues. Let’s not forget that Boston’s most likely closer, Matt Barnes, is a homegrown player. The team also received great 2018 production from an unlikely source in Ryan Brasier.
In fact, Barnes’s road to the majors is a great standard of comparison and model for both Travis Lakins and Durbin Feltman.