Ex-Red Sox All-Star, Fan-Favorite Off To Hot Start After Surprising Trade
The Red Sox have started off the 2023 campaign hot, but so too has a former Boston reliever.
Boston made a surprise move during this past offseason and designated former All-Star reliever Matt Barnes for assignment and eventually traded him to the Miami Marlins in exchange for left Richard Bleier.
Barnes has responded by shining so far to open the 2023 campaign for Miami. The 32-year-old has appeared in two of the club's three games so far this season and has yet to allow a run across two innings of work. Two appearances certainly is a small sample size, but he's allowed just one run and finished a game for the Marlins already this season. Through two appearances Barnes is in the 80th percentile for expected ERA when taking into contact against his pitching.
At one point Barnes seemed poised to take over the Red Sox's closer position for the foreseeable future. He fully took over the role in 2021 after seven years with the club and shined in the first half of the season and even earned an All-Star nod. He struggled after the All-Star Game and that inconsistent play carried over to the 2022 campaign. He dealt with injuries in 2022, but when he returned, he was impressive to end the season. Over the final two months of the 2022 season, Barnes compiled a 1.59 ERA across 22 appearances.
Boston's bullpen has raised plenty of questions. The Red Sox's bullpen was one of the worst in all of baseball in 2022 but the club made some interesting additions -- including three-time All-Star Kenley Jansen this past offseason and it should be significantly better this year. Although that's the case, some still have questioned why hurlers like Ryan Brasier and Kaleb Ort cracked the roster while Barnes was sent away. The UConn product certainly was more expensive which likely is the biggest reason for his departure, but he's been solid to open the 2023 campaign.
Although he no longer is in Boston, hopefully, he can keep up his level of play.
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