Mastrodonato: Red Sox could look foolish for DFA’ing All-Star closer Matt Barnes

Chances are high, Matt Barnes may have the final snort.

If he’s ever good once more, if he has only one extra nice season left in him, the Purple Sox will appear like fools.

They kind of already do.

Signing a 31-year-old nearer to an $18.75 million contract extension two days earlier than his first All-Star Sport in 2021, then reducing bait simply 18 months later, is the type of transfer that may eternally hang-out a baseball govt.

Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom mentioned “it’s a fantastic day for the Purple Sox” on July 11, 2021, when he introduced the Barnes extension.

“We’ve all seen it during the last variety of years, Matt has established himself as one of many higher relievers in baseball, and this 12 months he’s taken his recreation to a complete new degree in a fair greater function,” he mentioned.

Since then, Barnes has thrown 57.1 innings with a 4.87 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and eight.8 strikeouts per 9 innings. He was designated for project this week and the Purple Sox are on the hook for everything of his contract, assuming no group claims off waivers, a protected assumption.

There’s no debating that Barnes has fallen off a cliff during the last 18 months. However there’s one factor that stands out after the Sox’ determination to chop ties with Barnes this week: it occurred quick.

Within the year-and-a-half earlier than the extension, Barnes had thrown 60 innings with a 3.30 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 14 Okay/9, numbers that put him among the many finest 5 relievers in baseball.

Identical to that, he’s not price hanging onto?

It’s commonplace to see huge market groups eat dangerous contracts. It’s uncommon to see a giant market group that’s appearing like a small market group signal a participant to an extension earlier than he reaches free company – one thing they’ve struggled to do — after which reduce him simply 57 innings later.

Even after it was clear he had misplaced his fastball early within the ‘22 season, the Sox had been decided to get him again to pitching the best way he did a 12 months earlier. And late within the season, when it was clear he had rediscovered his confidence — the No. 1 challenge all alongside, he instructed the Herald on the time — supervisor Alex Cora began utilizing him within the late innings once more.

Barnes ended the season with 12 straight scoreless outings, went 5-for-5 in save alternatives and held opponents to a .611 OPS.

After giving him priceless alternatives to earn confidence and construct belief in September, how did the Purple Sox change their tune so shortly?

That’s the complicated a part of all this.

Right here’s the factor: if the Purple Sox had a stacked bullpen and Barnes had ended the season as disastrously had he began it, if he had a horrible offseason and had severe well being considerations that led the Sox to surprise if he’d ever be efficient once more, no person would blink twice concerning the transfer.

However the Sox have a handful of fellows on the 40-man roster that seemingly might’ve been reduce simply as simply. Guys like Kaleb Ort, Zack Kelly and Wyatt Mills – guys who, chances are high, can be DFA’d sooner or later within the subsequent 12 months — had been saved forward of Barnes.

Why? It’s simple, actually. They’ve choices. They’re low-cost. And the Purple Sox have valued reasonably priced management again and again within the Bloom period.

It’s not a nasty factor to purpose for effectivity in a baseball group. It’s the try to get too cute in each nook of the roster that’s made Bloom a tricky man for Purple Sox followers to rally behind.

The plain reply isn’t at all times the suitable reply – however typically it’s.

The plain reply is never Bloom’s reply, and when a common manager-type makes an attempt to play the sport extra creatively than everyone else, success is necessary or he finally ends up on the unemployment line.

Extra pitchers is best than one, and the mass assortment of pitchers technique has clearly been Bloom’s precedence because the starting right here. The true shock is he went out and acquired Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin this winter.

For a man who loves prioritizing depth over top-end expertise on the pitching facet, there’s one thing to be mentioned for his sudden change of coronary heart.

Did Cora demand the entrance workplace give him one thing – something – to work with within the late innings? Or did Bloom legitimately come round on the concept elite pitchers don’t develop on bushes and typically, regardless of how troublesome it’s, it’s a must to pay prime greenback to get a pair?

He paid for Barnes and that backfired.

He confirmed the need to spend truthful market worth on Jansen and Martin – two high-end relievers on the ultimate stretch of their careers.

However Bloom has but to pay prime greenback for a beginning pitcher. And as a substitute, the Purple Sox proceed buying within the discount bin.

The free agent market was loaded with beginning pitchers this winter, amongst them Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Carlos Rodon, Chris Bassitt, Jameson Taillon, Taijuan Walker, Sean Manaea, Andrew Heaney, Noah Syndergaard, Nathan Eovaldi, Clayton Kershaw, Jose Quintana, Zach Eflin, Martin Perez, Tyler Anderson and Ross Stripling.

However the Purple Sox made only one addition to the workers: Corey Kluber, a 36-year-old with an 88-mph fastball who, till final 12 months, hadn’t made 30 begins in a season since 2018.

So the Purple Sox will preserve Ort, Kelly and Mills, proceed to choice them forwards and backwards from the minors to the majors, and attempt to compete for a World Collection title that approach in 2023.

Barnes gained’t be part of it.

If he pitches nicely for anybody else, the Purple Sox are going to look awfully silly.