After a dramatic blown save against the New York Yankees on Thursday night, veteran Boston Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara looked like he might be shut down for the season. Manager John Farrell said he would have to discuss the situation for his free-agent-to-be closer prior to making such a decision.
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It turns out that the Red Sox will not shut down Uehara, but they will remove him from the high-leverage and pressure situations of closing games. From Rob Bradford of WEEI:
"Farrell made it clear that Uehara wouldn’t be shut down, and the team’s hope that he would reclaim the role before the end of the season.(Update: According to Tokyo Sports, Uehara asked Farrell to be taken out of the closers role, but not be shut down for season.)“After having a chance to sit with Koji he was understanding,” Farrell said. “He understands the reason for it. We’ll probably give him a couple of days to regroup some and then look to get him back in some lower-leverage situations.”"
It is understandable that Farrell wants to work together with the 39-year-old Uehara, especially given the credibility he has as a veteran. Then again, this decision does not make a lot of sense if the Red Sox actually plan to sign him as a free agent.
Uehara has already worn down this season with the wear and tear of the closer’s role: how do the Red Sox suppose things are going to go in his age 40 season, especially if they keep pitching him in meaningless games this month?
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