All-Decade Boston Red Sox Relief Pitchers
Set-Up Man
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For a time Koji Uehara (Set-Up Man) was one of the dominant relievers in the game. He pitched five seasons with Boston, the first three (2013-2015) of which were absolutely stellar. In that time span, Uehara appeared in 180 games, tossing 179 innings with a 1.86 ERA and striking out 228 batters. He is precisely the type of bullpen arm the team is missing today.
Closer
Prior to the 2019 MLB season, Craig Kimbrel (Closer) was on pace to become the greatest closer of all time. A depressed market followed by an atrocious performance, however, might indicate that Kimbrel’s best days are behind him.
The 2010s were mostly great for “Dirty Craig.” In all, he played three seasons for the Boston Red Sox. In that span, from 2016-2018, Kimbrel featured a 2.44 ERA and 305 SO over 184.1 innings.
His 108 saves in that period were third-most in MLB behind Edwin Diaz (109 SV) and Kenley Jansen (126 SV).