No bullpen set-up
Roles will vary based on matchup
CLEARWATER, Fla. — If you’ve spent a lot of time this spring trying to figure out who’s going to be the Red Sox’ primary setup man, you’ve put more thought into it than Alex Cora.
The Red Sox manager is not interested.
“You have to patch 27 outs somehow, some way,” Cora said. “And it will take the best guy in those situations. That’s the way I see it.”
Craig Kimbrel is the closer, but Cora thinks the rest of the bullpen is best managed on a caseby-case basis, especially given the number of relievers with late-inning experience.
There’s sinkerballer Carson Smith, flamethrower Joe Kelly and curve baller Matt Barnes. Which one gets the eighth inning, or handles the ninth on nights Kimbrel’s not available, will depend on which hitters are coming to the plate.
“If it’s people that have trouble with balls down in the zone, we’ll go to that guy,” Cora said. “If they have trouble with pitches outside of the plate, we’ll go to the other guy. If they have trouble with velocity, well, obviously, you know where we’re going. It’s just a matter of mixing and matching and know who’s coming up, and with the information that will be provided, we’ll go from there.”
And if you’ve spent a lot of time this spring assuming Robby Scott has a bullpen job locked up because he’s the most proven lefty available, you might want to rethink that one as well. Not only does he not believe in setup men, Cora also does not believe every bullpen needs a left-hander.
“If you have to carry four lefties, you carry them as long as they get people out,” he said. “If you don’t have to carry them, you don’t have to carry them. If your righties can get lefties and righties out, you do that. So, it’s just a matter of who can get people out.”
One brutal outing has wrecked Scott’s spring numbers, but he pitched in and out of trouble yesterday, and most of the other bullpen candidates have pitched well so far.
“The one guy with his stuff and uniqueness that has caught my attention, and we saw him at the end of the season last year from the other side, is Carson Smith,” Cora said.
Smith missed most of the past two years recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he returned to pitch against Cora’s Astros in last year’s Division Series, and he might be a key piece of that lateinning bullpen puzzle.
Nunez rained out
J.D. Martinez was supposed to have company in his Red Sox spring training debut. Eduardo Nunez was set to play his first game as well, but he was a late scratch in Fort Myers because of rain in the forecast. It wasn’t worth risking his rehabilitated knee on wet grass.
“We want him to play, but we’re not going to push him,” Cora said. “It’s still early in camp.”
Nunez will play second base today against the Rays. He’s scheduled to play second base again Saturday then DH on Sunday. Nunez had six at-bats and played three defensive innings in a minor league game Tuesday, and the Red Sox said there’s plenty of time to get him ready to start at second base on Opening Day.
Drew makes progress
Still no game action for Drew Pomeranz, but the Red Sox remain encouraged by his progress following a mild strain of his left forearm.
Five days after the initial injury, Pomeranz was able to play catch yesterday. Cora estimated that Pomeranz reached 60-90 feet and should be stretched out to 120 feet in a few days.
“No pain today, which was great,” Cora said. “We’ll see the next time he throws, and we’ll go from there.” . . .
Asked who’s caught his eye this spring, Cora singled out a minor league lefty who’s never pitched above Double A.
“Bobby Poyner,” Cora said. “You see his numbers in the minor leagues and the way he throws the ball, it’s not a coincidence. He’s caught my eye, yeah.”
Poyner, 25, had a 0.94 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .142 batting average at Double-A Portland last year. After a 1-2-3 inning against the Phillies yesterday, Poyner’s allowed one hit — a home run — in five innings this spring.
“It’s awesome to get positive feedback, absolutely,” Poyner said. “But I try to keep it pitch-by-pitch and game-by-game.”
Holt feels better
After feeling abdominal tightness on Tuesday, Brock Holt was held out of games yesterday, but he’s expected to play tomorrow.
“He’s feeling better,” Cora said. “Probably shooting for Friday just to be safe.” . . .
Triple-A starter Chandler Shepherd didn’t make it out of the first inning in the Red Sox’ 8-1 loss to the Twins at home yesterday. On the road, Andrew Benintendi drove in the only Red Sox run in a 2-1 loss to the Phillies . . . .
Mookie Betts was 0-for-2 with a walk and remains hitless in 16 at-bats this spring. He’s walked in four of his past five games.