{"id":49388,"date":"2025-05-19T04:29:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T04:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=49388"},"modified":"2025-05-19T04:29:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T04:29:16","slug":"red-sox-could-sign-this-veteran-free-agent-to-reinforce-struggling-bullpen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=49388","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox could sign this veteran free agent to reinforce struggling bullpen"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Baltimore Orioles v Texas Rangers\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_76,w_4085,h_2297\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/14\/01jvdbnsr9rkjcjrec6t.jpg\" alt=\"Baltimore Orioles v Texas Rangers\" width=\"4085\" height=\"2297\" data-uw-rm-alt-original=\"Baltimore Orioles v Texas Rangers\" data-uw-rm-alt=\"ALT\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">Baltimore Orioles v Texas Rangers | Ron Jenkins\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\"><main class=\"min-w-0 flex-1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Despite all their preseason expectations, the 2025 season has not gone to plan for the Boston Red Sox. The club can&#8217;t break free of its .500 pattern, and is coming off a painful sweep against the Detroit Tigers, both indicative of Boston\u2019s inconsistent bullpen.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">While this has been a painful revelation for the Red Sox, it is made worse by Garrett Whitlock\u2019s sudden decline as a high-leverage reliever, a role in short supply for Boston. Of course, the season is still in its infancy, and if the Red Sox want to address their bullpen woes, David Robertson could be the man for the job.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Despite a very productive 2024 season with the Texas Rangers, Robertson has remained unsigned,\u00a0which could bode well for the Red Sox.\u00a0Robertson, a 16-year MLB veteran, pitched to a 3.00 ERA, a 2.65 FIP, and a 131 ERA+ in 76 innings of work last season. While currently 40 years old, Robertson would be a solid replacement for\u00a0Whitlock, who has lost his ability as a high-leverage reliever.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">In spite of his prior success, Whitlock has hit a complete brick wall this season. In 22.1 innings of work, Whitlock has pitched to a 4.43 ERA and an ERA+ of 94. In addition to these struggles, Whitlock also leads the league in blown saves with four, a trend that checks out with the whole team, as\u00a0the Red Sox lead the league with 11 blown saves.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Red Sox could sign veteran free agent David Robertson to strengthen struggling bullpen<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Even with his poor performances, Whitlock has not been alone in his struggles. Justin Slaten, who blossomed as a dependable late-inning reliever in 2024, has also seen a considerable decline in play in 2025, currently owning a 4.76 ERA and an ERA+ of 89 in 17 innings.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Robertson would be a great, much-needed signing for the Red Sox. In addition to being a premier late-game option out of the bullpen, he&#8217;s also an MLB veteran with several successful years under his belt, experience that would help the bullpen preserve leads.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and Boston\u2019s front office should be all over Robertson. And considering his 2024 campaign, it won\u2019t come as a surprise when a team eventually picks him up, a team which should be the Red Sox. Even with the season still being young,\u00a0the bullpen has been long identified as an area of top concern for the Red Sox, and an addition like Robertson would alleviate much of the bullpen\u2019s woes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Baltimore Orioles v Texas Rangers | Ron Jenkins\/GettyImages Despite all their preseason expectations, the 2025 season has not gone to plan for the Boston Red Sox. The&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Red Sox could sign this veteran free agent to reinforce struggling bullpen - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=49388\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red Sox could sign this veteran free agent to reinforce struggling bullpen - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Baltimore Orioles v Texas Rangers | Ron Jenkins\/GettyImages Despite all their preseason expectations, the 2025 season has not gone to plan for the Boston Red Sox. 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