The Boston Red Sox are currently in the midst of a lost season. They are (un)comfortably in last place in the American League East, a solid 15.5 games out of first place, and only seven teams in all of baseball have worse records. Nevertheless, their remaining games still serve an important purpose.
All but mathematically eliminated, the Sox have decided to use the remainder of the 2014 season as a sort of early spring training. In the weeks leading up to and following the July trade deadline, the Red Sox have been testing the depth of their farm system, ranked fourth overall by Baseball Prospectus prior to the start of this season. The legend of Brock Holt has been well-documented, but prospects such as Mookie Betts, Anthony Ranaudo, Christian Vazquez, and Rubby De La Rosa, among others, have all shown the ability to at least be solid contributors at the Major League level. With the increased traffic between Pawtucket and Yawkey Way, and the other level of the organization; one rookie, who may be the future of the closer’s role in Boston, has seemingly flown under the radar: 29 year old lefty reliever Tommy Layne.
While this is purely speculation at this point, there is evidence to support the idea that the Red Sox view Layne as Koji Uehara’s successor. Prior to being called up to Boston on August 1st for a game agaisnt the Yankees, Layne had been serving as the closer for the Pawtucket Red Sox, the organization’s AAA affiliate, and had been all but lights out. For a guy that has a fastball that touches the low-90s with average control, this may come as a bit of a surprise, yet over the span of 37 games Layne racked up 11 saves in 11 opportunities to go along with a 5-1 record and a 1.50 ERA. Layne notched 53 strikeouts while walking 20 batters in 48 innings. Opponents were batting just .173 against him while he sported a miniscule 1.02 WHIP on his way to being named an All-Star. One would, perhaps, like to see fewer walks out of a closer, but it could not be clearer that Layne has the stuff to hold his own in the ninth inning.
Additionally, Layne has largely been filling fellow southpaw Andrew Miller’s setup role since the deadline. With Uehara still firmly entrenched as the team’s closer, this is as close as Layne can get to that role at the moment. And while this may mean nothing. In the weeks leading up to the deadline, there was talk around the league that some teams viewed Miller as a potential closer. Perhaps, in bringing their AAA closer up right after trading Miller and handing him Miller’s duties right away, the Red Sox are signaling that they think just as highly of Layne. The results would certainly justify it. Layne has pitched 7.1 innings for Boston this season and, while that is a small sample size, the results have been at least as good as they were in AAA. Layne is currently 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA, six strikeouts, and four walks. He also sports a 0.95 WHIP while opponents are batting just .120 against him.
Layne’s situation is also somewhat comparable to that of former Red Sox Closer Jonathan Papelbon, when he himself was first called to Major League duty. While Layne is not as highly thought of as a prospect as Papelbon was, the circumstances surrounding their arrivals are very similar. Papelbon first came up in the latter part of the 2005 season, which, like this season, followed a World Series victory. Like Layne, Papelbon came up near the end of the current closer’s time in Boston. Back then, it was Keith Foulke who held the job; now it is Uehara.
It is true that Boston has publicly stated a desire to retain Uehara, who will be a free agent at the end of the season. However, while Koji Uehara is still a formidable closer and was an All Star this season, the fact remains that he will be 40 years old when the 2015 season opens. Even if the Red Sox do re-sign him, it would be hard to imagine that it would be for more than one year. Sooner or later, the Sox will need to find his replacement, and Layne just might fit the bill
Once again, this is pure speculation. Yet Layne’s numbers, both in AAA and in limited Major League action, have at least earned him an opportunity to compete for the job. The Red Sox have been trying out a lot of exciting prospects since the deadline, and top prospects Henry Owens and Blake Swihart are not far away from being ready. It is easy to see how Layne may have gone largely unnoticed, but it might be time to start paying attention.
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