Red Sox Release Veteran Reliever Months After Trading All-Star For Him

Boston is cutting ties with a player many expected to have a big role this season

Scott Neville | Aug 9, 2023

Red Sox Release Veteran Reliever Months After Trading All-Star For Him /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox reportedly are moving on from a veteran reliever after making a notable trade to acquire his services from the Miami Marlins.

Boston has released left-hander Richard Bleier according to MassLive's Chris Cotillo on Wednesday. He's free to sign elsewhere after being designated for assignment on Monday.

Bleier struggled from the onset of the season, sustained left shoulder inflammation which held him out for most of the year and then came back ineffective. The 36-year-old posted a 5.28 ERA with a 16-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .306 batting average against and 1.37 WHIP in 30 2/3 innings across 27 games. He had some big moments but was largely unable to miss bats and also featured reverse splits, making it quite hard for manager Alex Cora to deploy him correctly.

The aging veteran was acquired for former All-Star closer Matt Barnes and cash considerations from the Marlins over the winter.

While that might sound like a lopsided trade, the reality is that neither team won. Barnes posted a 5.48 ERA with a 20-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .284 batting average against and 1.64 WHIP in 21 1/3 innings before hitting the shelf with season-ending hip surgery.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was wise to capitalize on Barnes' unsustainable second-half production but chose the wrong acquisition. That said, it's unlikely that he could have done much better in a trade centered around the homegrown hurler after years of inconsistency.

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Published Aug 9, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu