Diamondbacks name Boxberger as team’s closer
Diamondbacks want Bradley to stay in flexible role
The Diamondbacks finally settled on a closer on Tuesday, officially giving the job to veteran Brad Boxberger. The decision felt less about Boxberger and more about Archie Bradley.
Boxberger gives the Diamondbacks a veteran reliever with experience in the ninth inning. He threw the ball well during camp, particularly in recent weeks, and seems fully capable of being a reliable, lateinning option.
But it’s how he affects Bradley that seems to be the most important factor in the Diamondbacks’ decision to anoint him closer – and, by extension, in the strength of their bullpen in 2018.
With a competent option in the ninth, the Diamondbacks are free to deploy Bradley, who may well be their best reliever, in the situations they deem the most pivotal on a nightly basis.
Were Bradley named the closer, the earliest he could conceivably be brought into a game would be the eighth – and even then, manager Torey Lovullo likely would be hold-
ing onto him until the club had a lead. Unburdened by such restrictions, Lovullo can use Bradley the same way he did for most of last season.
Runners on with a one-run lead in the seventh? Tie game on the road in the eighth? Extra innings? In theory, Bradley should be available for any of it.
The Diamondbacks’ roster includes a handful of players capable of bouncing between positions at a moment’s notice. Perhaps the decision to keep Bradley in a setup role is another example of how much they value flexibility.
“Archie’s versatility, being able to have him for two, three, four or five (outs), at any time, was very important to the success of this team last year, and we wanted that to continue,” Lovullo said. “That was one of the strong considerations that we walked through.”
The Diamondbacks aren’t the first team to keep their top reliever out of the closer’s role. They essentially had the same arrangement last year when veteran Fernando Rodney handled the ninth, though a decision involving Bradley didn’t present itself since Rodney never pitched poorly enough to warrant a demotion.
This time, there was a decision. With Bradley fresh off a season in which he posted 1.73 ERA, this feels more like what the Cleveland Indians do with their relief ace, Andrew Miller. For five seasons, Miller has been one of baseball’s better relievers; he has held down the closer’s role full-time in only one of them.
“I think teams are trending toward understanding where the hot spots are in the lineup and being able to attack them with specific guys,” Lovullo said. “Archie works hard and nothing is automatic, but I feel real good when Archie comes into the game against the most potent part of the opposition’s lineup.”
Boxberger’s experience was another factor. In 2015, his last fully healthy season, Boxberger logged a majors-leading 41 saves in 47 tries. Lovullo noted that, as the Red Sox bench coach, he saw Boxberger’s effectiveness firsthand from the opposing dugout.
“The more times you do something, the more comfortable you get at it,” Boxberger said. “Pitching in any back-end situation is going to have its high-leverage and stress situations, and it’s just being able to keep a level head and manage your ability to get the out.”
As he has said all month, Bradley insisted Tuesday he is all for it, so long as it means the Diamondbacks are winning and he’s a part of it.
“Let’s do it,” Bradley said. “I really don’t care. I think with the talks we have with Torey, between Box and I and (Yoshihisa Hirano), it’s just the best way to go. Box has the experience. He’s led the league in saves before. And I was pretty comfortable with what I did. So why not see if we can get that rolling like we did last year with Rodney?”
The Diamondbacks would love that. Last year, in large part thanks to Bradley and Rodney, they were 76-4 when leading after seven innings.
“He excelled in that role,” Lovullo said. “We wanted to have Archie available at different times throughout the lineup, and I think this would give us as much versatility with Archie as possible.”
Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.