The Red Sox designated 11 players for assignment, including six pitchers (Matt Barnes, Connor Siebold, Franklin German, Darwinzon Hernandez, Eduard Bajardo and Jake Reed).
Both relievers Ryan Brasier and Caleb Ort remain. Despite struggling the previous season, they avoided significant roster turnover.
Brasier finished the 2022 season with a 5.78 ERA in 68 appearances. Ort, a 31-year-old rookie, posted a 6.35 ERA in 25 outings.
How is it expected to perform in 2023?
The Bill James Handbook projects Brasier to post a 4.03 ERA in 71 outings. ZiPS projections project Brasier to have a 4.50 ERA and 12 holds in 53 outings.
The James Handbook projects Ort to post a 3.97 ERA in 35 outings while ZPS projects him for a 4.42 ERA in 51 outings.
“I know (Brasier) has been like a lightning rod for this. People talk about projections that can make their eyes roll,” chief baseball official Chaim Bloom said on MassLive.com fenway rundown, explaining the reason for Brasier still being on the team. “The fact of the matter is there are a lot of things you can see pitchers do that are really good indicators of what they’re going to do going forward, and in many cases can be a better indicator than ERA. Nothing guarantees growth. Obviously, we deal in probabilities, don’t we? Nothing in life is guaranteed to us.
“But those indicators are real and are things that not only we, but the industry increasingly believe in because more often than not, they prove it,” Brasier said. “And with Ryan, it’s not rocket science. He throws a lot of strikeouts. He has really good stuff, made some adjustments later in the season. Just in terms of how and when he used what, he had to sequenced better and helped them out. Product of a lot of good work, first of all, obviously by Ryan. But also by various members of our staff … who really came together to make it Help us understand, ‘Okay, why are our results less than what they say we should be doing?’
brian bello
bill james handbook: 10โ7, 3.47 ERA, 28 games, 28 starts, 151 innings, 142 hits, 10 homers, 61 walks, 180 strikeouts, 12.3 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 12โ9, 3.99 ERA, 29 games, 26 starts, 135 โ innings, 131 hits, 14 homers, 52 walks, 140 strikeouts.
Richard Blair
Bill James Handbook: 3โ3, 3.90 ERA, 5 saves, 57 games, 0 starts, 55 innings, 60 hits, 4 homers, 10 walks, 37 strikeouts, 11.8 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 2-2, 3.85 ERA, 10 holds, 50 games, 2 starts, 46 โ innings, 50 hits, 4 homers, 10 walks, 31 strikeouts.
ryan hearth
bill james handbook: 4-4, 4.03 ERA, 0 saves, 71 games, 0 starts, 67 innings, 71 hits, 10 homers, 18 walks, 67 strikeouts, 12.2 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 2-1, 4.50 ERA, 12 holds, 53 games, 0 starts, 48 โโinnings, 49 hits, 7 homers, 13 walks, 47 strikeouts.
kutter crawford
bill james handbook: 5-5, 4.23 ERA, 18 games, 18 starts, 83 innings, 88 hits, 14 homers, 27 walks, 87 strikeouts, 12.7 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 5โ5, 4.72 ERA, 1 hold, 23 games, 16 starts, 89 โ innings, 92 hits, 14 homers, 33 walks, 89 strikeouts.
tanner hawk
bill james handbook: 4-3, 3.78 ERA, 26 saves, 58 games, 0 starts, 65 innings, 61 hits, 5 homers, 25 walks, 68 strikeouts, 12.9 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 6-5, 4.14 ERA, 2 saves, 7 holds, 31 games, 12 starts, 82 โ innings, 76 hits, 10 homers, 32 walks, 88 strikeouts.
kenley johnson
Bill james booklet: 5-3, 3.23 ERA, 40 saves, 69 games, 0 starts, 69 innings, 49 hits, 9 homers, 28 walks, 87 strikeouts, 10.4 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 4-2, 3.70 ERA, 29 saves, 3 holds, 57 games, 0 starts, 56 innings, 46 hits, 7 homers, 20 walks, 65 strikeouts.
corey kluber
bill james handbook: 9-10, 3.98 ERA, 30 games, 30 starts, 170 innings, 178 hits, 21 homers, 37 walks, 145 strikeouts, 12.0 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 8โ7, 4.62 ERA, 25 games, 25 starts, 124 โ innings, 136 hits, 18 homers, 32 walks, 114 strikeouts.
Chris Martin
bill james handbook: 5-2, 2.96 ERA, 6 saves, 66 games, 0 starts, 65 innings, 57 hits, 8 homers, 8 walks, 74 strikeouts, 9.3 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 3-1, 3.60 ERA, 2 saves, 12 holds, 50 games, 0 starts, 45 innings, 46 hits, 6 homers, 8 walks, 47 strikeouts.
Wyatt Mills
bill james handbook: None
zip: 3-2 record, 4.47 ERA, 4 holds, 47 games, 50โ innings, 49 hits, 5 homers, 24 walks, 54 strikeouts.
caleb place
bill james handbook: 2-2, 3.97 ERA, 1 hold, 35 games, 0 starts, 42 innings, 41 hits, 3 homers, 21 walks, 47 strikeouts, 13.9 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 3-3, 4.42 ERA, 51 outings, 0 starts, 55 innings, 52 hits, 6 homers, 27 walks, 60 strikeouts.
james paxton
bill james handbook: None
zip: 10โ8, 4.05 ERA, 25 games, 25 starts, 126 โ innings, 121 hits, 18 homers, 46 walks, 141 strikeouts.
Nick Piveta,
bill james booklet: 10โ10, 4.26 ERA, 33 games, 33 starts, 181 innings, 179 hits, 29 homers, 74 walks, 180 strikeouts, 12.9 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 9โ9, 4.64 ERA, 30 games, 28 starts, 151 โ innings, 148 hits, 23 homers, 60 walks, 149 strikeouts.
jolie rodriguez
bill james handbook: 4-3, 3.65 ERA, 57 games, 0 starts, 59 innings, 53 hits, 4 homers, 28 walks, 64 strikeouts, 12.5 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 3-2, 3.62 ERA, 1 save, 15 holds, 48 โโoutings, 0 starts, 42 hits, 3 homers, 17 walks, 46 strikeouts.
chris sale
bill james handbook: None
zip: 5-4, 3.95 ERA, 16 games, 16 starts, 82 innings, 75 hits, 11 homers, 24 walks, 101 strikeouts.
jon schreiber
bill james handbook: 5-3, 3.42 ERA, 9 saves, 68 games, 0 starts, 71 innings, 61 hits, 6 homers, 24 walks, 77 strikeouts, 11.2 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 6-3, 3.67 ERA, 2 saves, 14 holds, 59 games, 2 starts, 68 โ innings, 62 hits, 7 homers, 25 walks, 72 strikeouts.
Garrett Whitlock,
bill james booklet: 6-4, 3.37 ERA, 43 games, 0 starts, 90 innings, 86 hits, 9 homers, 19 walks, 93 strikeouts, 10.7 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 5-3, 3.44 ERA, 0 saves, 1 hold, 35 outings, 8 starts, 83 โ innings, 76 hits, 9 homers, 19 walks, 86 strikeouts.
josh winkowski
Bill james booklet: 4โ4, 4.13 ERA, 15 games, 15 starts, 73 innings, 77 hits, 8 homers, 24 walks, 59 strikeouts, 12.7 baserunners per nine innings.
zip: 7โ9, 4.92 ERA, 24 games, 23 starts, 1 hold, 115 โ innings, 127 hits, 17 homers, 40 walks, 84 strikeouts.
