Bullpen depth became a major issue for the Boston Red Sox last season, as closer Koji Uehara was lost to injury and his replacement, Junichi Tazawa, wore down near the end of the season due to over-use. Entering the offseason, addressing that problem was perhaps the Red Sox top priority, and they’ve made great strides in addressing it thanks to the acquisitions of Craig Kimbrel and Carson Smith. On Tuesday, with little time remaining before pitchers and catchers are set to report, the Sox continued their efforts, signing former Chicago Cubs closer Carlos Marmol to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. He’ll get a chance to compete for a spot on the regular season roster.
Marmol’s stuff has never been in doubt. He came up with the Cubs in 2006, and pitched in Chicago until 2013, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. As the Cubs closer from 2009-2012, Marmol’s fat ball sat in the mid-90s and toped out at about 96 miles psr hour. The 33-year old former All Star had his best season in 2010; that year, he saved thirty-eight games with striking out 138 batters and recording a 2.55 ERA.
Marmol can miss bats, but he’s known more for his troubles when it comes to hitting the strike zone. Marmol has been wild his whole career; even when he was putting up incredible strikeout numbers with the Cubs, he struggled with control, to say the least. In 2010, his strongest season, he walked an ugly fifty-two batters in just 77.2 innings. For his career, he has walked 395 batters in 577 innings and, despite throwing legitimate heat, he owns a meager 1.88 K/BB ratio.
Marmol last pitched in the big leagues in 2014 for the Miami Marlins. That year, he appeared in just 13.1 innings and struck out fourteen batters while walking ten. He also gave up twelve earned runs. Unsurprisingly, he lost all three games in which he factored into the decision.
It is unlikely that Marmol will find himself on the Sox major league roster when the season begins, but his stuff should keep him in their minor league system. If injuries once again strike the bullpen, he could find himself pitching at Fenway Park at some point this season.
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