Red Sox reliever Andrew Bailey is being removed from the closer role in accordance with his recent struggles. Boston Manager John Ferrell told Red Sox beat writer Evan Drellich the news, and Drellich posted it on twitter.
Bailey has blown 3 saves in his last three opportunities, including last night on a walk-off home run from Tigers shortstop Jhonny Peralta. And to make matters worse, he was not even able to get an out in the inning before giving up the dinger.
Although Ferrell confirmed the move, he did not announce who would take Bailey’s place, or if he would ever get his job back. The obvious choice would be Junichi Tazawa, who filled the closer role earlier in the year when Bailey was injured.
And though he has struggled recently, he was very good earlier in the year, with an ERA under 1.50. But since the blowup, his ERA has ballooned to 4.03 on the season. If he looks like his old self outside of the closer role, then he may get another chance later in the year since he was so good before.
Bailey was acquired back in 2011 from the A’s in exchange for outfielder Josh Reddick. And though Reddick had a solid year last year, he has been terrible this year, so neither player has really progressed like their respective teams had hoped. Bailey was great for the A’s, but repeated injuries have held him back since then.