With the Red Sox spring training season just two weeks away and the regular season opener, at Seattle, just 47 days away, the Red Sox have not signed a closer.
Last year’s closer, Craig Kimbrel, who had 42 saves in 47 attempts, with an earned run average of 2.74 and 96 strikeouts in just 62 1/3 innings pitched, is still, as of this writing, a free agent. Kimbrel, who will be 31 years old on May 28, and is a nine-year veteran, is reportedly looking for a six-year contract with a total salary of around $100 million.
While there are many teams who have expressed interest in Kimbrel, no one has apparently, as yet, made an offer he is willing to accept. The Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals are viewed as the most likely to acquire him at this point with the Minnesota Twins a possibility.
The chance that he will return to the Red Sox is still on the table, but it is doubtful that the Red Sox will meet his long-term contract demand or pay the money he is looking for, with a multi-year contract.

This is the second consecutive year when free agents are not getting the money they expected and he is not the only highly coveted free agent unable to find a new home, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper being the most obvious.
In his nine years in the majors, Kimbrel has saved 333 games with a 1.91 ERA while striking out 868 in 533 innings pitched. He came to the Red Sox in November of 2015 from the San Diego Padres, who received four minor league players in return.
In his three years with Boston, he had saved 108 of 119 opportunities and had a 2.44 earned run average. As good as he has been at Boston, the fact that he had his highest earned run average in his career in 2016 at 3.40 and the second highest last year at 2.74 must raise some concerns over his long-term future.
The Red Sox did sign free agent Jenrry Mejia, former closer with the Mets to a minor league contract on Jan. 30. Mejia, who was given a lifetime ban from the game on February 12 of 2016, after three failed drug tests, but was reinstated by the Commissioner for this year, had one good year with the Mets prior to being banned. In 2014, he saved 28 of 31 attempts with a 3.65 ERA but hasn’t pitched since 2015 and is not expected to make it to Boston this year.
If the Sox are unable to bring Kimbrel back, speculation is that either Matt Barnes or Ryan Brasier or a combination of the two, will fill the closer role. Both Barnes and Brasier exhibited the ability to pitch on consecutive days in 2018, something often required of a Closer. Barnes appeared in games on consecutive days five times, twice appearing three days in a row. Brasier, who, between Boston and Pawtucket, was in 68 games in 2018, also appeared five times on successive days, once three days in a row, while spending just half the season with Boston.
Barnes who worked mostly in middle relief and as set-up man last year, pitched in 62 games out of the bull pen. He is a 28-year-old, hard throwing right hander out of the University of Connecticut, who has three full years with the Sox. His 2018 statistics almost mirror Kimbrel’s. He struck out 96, the same number as Kimbrel in 61 2/3 innings compared to Kimbrel’s 62 1/3 innings and walked 31, exactly the same number as Kimbrel. His ERA was 3.65 compared to Kimbrel’s 2.74.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Barnes, was on the disabled list for 10 days in August of last year, with a lower back strain, and had an ERA of 9.64 in August and 5.06 in September.
The 31-year-old Brasier, who is 6-foot tall and 225 pounds, appeared in 34 games after coming up with the Sox in July of last year. In 33 2/3 innings, he had an ERA of 1.60. Brasier was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2007 draft and played in the minors for them until November of 2014 when he was released as a free agent. The Oakland Athletics finally signed him on July 15 of 2015 and he spent the next two seasons with the Nashville Sound in the Triple A, Pacific Coast League.
After the 2016 season, the Athletics released him, and he went to Japan to try to save his career. He played for the Hiroshima Carp in the Japanese Central League in 2017, pitching in 26 games in relief, with a 3.00 ERA and a 2-1 record.
The Sox signed him for the minimum on March 14, 2018, and he started the year at Pawtucket. He got in 34 games there, in relief, with a 2-5 record and a 1.34 ERA. The Sox brought him up and he made his first appearance on July 9. In his first seven appearances in relief, he did not give up a run and became a major cog in the Red Sox bull pen.
Brasier could be the answer to the Red Sox’ closer problem if they are unable to bring Kimbrel back. Two of the Red Sox most successful closers in recent years have been Kimbrel and Jonathan Papelbon. If you recall those two pitchers both had a strange way of posing before delivering the ball. They were both compared to crabs or other animals because of their strange positions.
If you are a superstitious person and have seen Brasier pitch, he has the habit of canting his head to one side as he sets to pitch, almost looking like a right-handed golfer trying to focus just his right eye on the ball before hitting it. Brasier could be the third closer with a strange starting position. If he is, Sox fans will hope he is as successful as the others.
No matter what happens with Kimbrel, the Sox don’t appear to have an immediate need or the inclination to sign a high-priced free agent closer.