While the Red Sox have had some things work this past month, some things have gone horribly. Their offense has proven they can put up runs in some games, and even when they can’t, the starting pitching has been stellar. However, their bullpen as of late has been pretty bad. Pitchers like Greg Weissert, in particular, have really been a problem this month, with him letting half the runner he inherits score. In addition, with Brayan Bello struggling to start games, Boston has used openers in his starts. And the opener experiments have gone terribly.
Greg Weissert has inherited 21 runners this season and 12 of them have scored.
— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) May 28, 2026
In four games where Brayan Bello has come in long relief, the openers have an exponentially higher ERA in the first inning than Bello, who holds an ERA of 11.57 in the first inning. Mostly, it’s been Jovani Moran on the bad side of this. On Friday night, it was rookie Tyler Samaniego. Whether it’s the opener, or just poor pitching in the later innings, the bullpen has been lackluster recently. But the Red Sox may have an answer sitting in Worcester, and they have to act soon.
Red Sox openers for Brayan Bello this season
4 GS- 4.0 IP – 13 H – 9 ER
20.25 ERA – 3.75 WHIP
So another decision made by the Red Sox than isn’t just bad but incredibly bad
There isn’t one person that doesn’t believe this game is already over
— bostonsportsinf (@jsgiii22661) May 29, 2026
Tommy Kahnle Could Solve The Red Sox’s Bullpen Problems
Tommy Kahnle is a career bullpen veteran that debuted in 2014. He’s pitched for many teams such as the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, but his best years have come with the rival New York Yankees, particularly in the later years of his career. In 2023, he had a 2.66 ERA in 42 appearances. This was later outdone in 2024, with a 2.11 ER in 50 appearances.
Back in mid-March, he signed with the Red Sox on a minor league contract. But the contract had a condition to it. If he was not called up to the 40 man roster by June 1, he could opt out of his contract and search for another team.
That wouldn’t be ideal for the Red Sox. Kahnle’s having a great year in Triple-A Worcester. In 19.1 innings pitched, he holds a 1.40 ERA and 21 strikeouts. He’s somewhat had a closer role as well with five saves in 18 appearances out of the bullpen. Despite a down year last year in Detroit, where he only had a 18.7% strikeout percentage (almost nine percent lower than his career K%), he seems to be bouncing back well in the Red Sox system.
The Red Sox Need To Act Now
His original contract expired on May 1st, but no teams showed serious interest for an active roster addition, so the Red Sox picked it up for another month. Seeing the struggles their bullpen is going through currently, combined with Kahnle’s minor league success, there’s almost no reason why he shouldn’t be on this current roster. The only consistent reliever with a better ERA than Kahnle currently is closer Aroldis Chapman. Plus, with Garrett Whitlock being sidelined for possibly the next couple of weeks, someone’s going to have to fill the role.
After Weissert’s poor performance against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday afternoon, it’s getting hard to see why he’s still on this team. While a 4.43 ERA may not seem horrible in today’s game, batters are hitting .319 against him with runners on. Even in his off year, Kahnle only had a .240 OBA with runners on the bases in 2025. Between injuries and poor performances, there needs to be a change. And Kahnle could be that change for the better.
The Last Word
The Red Sox have until Monday to decide what to do with Tommy Kahnle. As mentioned before, given the circumstances with the Whitlock injury, there’s certainly room for him in the bullpen, at least for a couple weeks if not longer.
Main Image Credit: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
