Boston Red Sox Ryan Dempster moving to the bullpen

As the Boston Red Sox prepare for the postseason they are making decisions to shore up an already high performing bullpen. Ryan Dempster will move to a reliever role for the rest of the season and the playoffs to give some added depth to the pen.

Jason Mastrodonato of MLB.com wrote about John Farrell’s Friday announcement.

"Red Sox manager John Farrell announced Friday that Dempster, who has a 4.64 ERA in 29 starts this season, will pitch out of the ‘pen for the remainder of the season. With Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Jake Peavy, John Lackey and Felix Doubront also in the rotation, there was no longer a need for a sixth starter. Farrell said Doubront could join Dempster in the bullpen after his scheduled start Sunday."

With Dempster’s skill set, Mastrodonato pointed out his value.

"With his high strikeout rate (8.3 per nine innings) and a devastating splitter that can present ground balls almost on cue, Dempster makes for an intriguing option as a one- or two-inning reliever."

I love this move for the Sox. They will get the most value out of Dempster by allowing him to be a set-up man to the excellent closer Koji Uehara. With the excellent depth in the rotation this team will be a force in the playoffs. As long as the bats can provide the run support I believe this team can go far in October.