Things haven’t quite been going Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes’s way since his All-Star first half of the 2021 season.
First, his ERA ballooned post-All Star break and his effectiveness bottomed out to the point that he was left off the ALCS roster. Then, coming into this season, his velocity has been noticeably down, with his fastball topping out in the 92-93 mph range this spring as opposed to the 95.8 mph average he boasted last season.
Fortunately, manager Alex Cora suggested this past weekend he and Barnes had discovered what the problem might be and had set to work fixing it.