Loogy here
As quiet as the Red Sox were at the Winter Meetings, they did manage to sign one player during the event. Relax Boston sports fans, our issues at closer, right field and in the rotation have been solved, we have Jesse Carlson. Wait, what? Ok, maybe not.
Boston inked ex-Blue Jay reliever Jesse Carlson to a split contract, giving him the chance to compete for a spot in the Red Sox bullpen. This move is not going to compete for headlines against the Angels or the Marlins, but it is potential important. Last off-season,Boston had plenty of headline grabbing moments, but the signings of Alfredo Aceves and Matt Albers are not typically listed among them. Those deals were key in building a bullpen that ranked first in fWAR for relievers and forth in FIP. The Carlson signing may be of similar impact in 2012.
Despite the success of the bullpen in 2011, the Red Sox were distinctly thin in left handed relief. The Sox used Rich Hill, Franklin Morales, Randy Williams, Andrew Miller and Hideki Okajima as left specialists in 2011 and while they were all reasonable effective in the role at times, none of that group even managed 40 innings. With Carlson, the Sox have a back up plan of Morales and possibly even a LOOGY who could be used in a more extended capacity.
Carlson has been better against lefties than against righties in his career, just as you might expect. However, he has not had the radical splits of a true LOOGY. He has a significantly better FIP against lefties (3.72) than against righties (4.48) but this is due entirely to the home runs he gives up to righties as his xFIP is much closer (4.20 vs LH, 4.31 vs RH). He actually has struck out righties at a greater rate than lefties though he has also given them more free passes. If he can continue to do that, he can be viable option in both LOOGY scenarios and in the 7th or 8th inning potentially.
The major risk with Carlson comes from injury. The lefty missed 2011 thanks to rotator cuff surgery. He will need to prove that he can be healthy and effective once again to earn a full time spot in Boston, but if he does, there is good reason to believe he could be a valuable role player out of the pen.
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