Tuesday night's eighth-inning meltdown vs the lowly Marlins emphasized the Red Sox' need for bullpen help with October rapidly approaching.
Unfortunately, it appears to be slim pickings with most teams pulling their valuable arms (Rays' Sergio Romo would have been a good fit, for example) off revocable waivers. Still, there are some options that wouldn't cost the Red Sox an arm and a leg.
Yes, that's right, Dave Dombrowski can still at least attempt to fix the bullpen problem before it's too late. Friday marks the waiver trade deadline, so although Dombrowski and the Sox missed out on the chance to add an elite reliever before July 31, there's still hope to upgrade the scuffling 'pen before the calendar flips to September.
Here are the three most realistic options as of today. . .
FRANCISCO LIRIANO, DETROIT TIGERS
Would it be the sexiest pickup? Absolutely not. Liriano's best days are far behind him as he's posted a 3-9 record and 4.82 ERA in 21 appearances with Detroit this year. But at this point, beggars really can't be choosers and Liriano is one of very few reasonable arms that have cleared waivers. He obviously wouldn't start unless it was on an emergency basis. Instead, he would be moved to the bullpen to take on a role he grew familiar with in Houston during the Astros' championship run: A veteran southpaw that can get left-handed hitters out.
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RYAN MADSON, WASHINGTON NATIONALS
The Nationals already showed they're in fire sale mode by trading Daniel Murphy to the Cubs and Matt Adams to the Cardinals. Next up could be veteran reliever Ryan Madson. Washington placed the 38-year-old on revocable waivers following his return from the disabled list.
Madson is having a rough 2018 season (5.28 ERA, 1.42 WHIP in 49 appearances) but is a proven veteran with a postseason pedigree. The Red Sox probably would be better off adding a left-handed reliever, but they could do a lot worse than Madson.
GIO GONZALEZ, WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Like Liriano, Gonzalez is a struggling starter the Red Sox could convert into a left-handed relief specialist for the remainder of the season. Of course, he's more than capable of filling a rotation spot if necessary. The 32-year-old, who actually finished sixth in NL Cy Young voting in 2017, has a 7-11 record and 4.35 ERA in 26 starts this year on a Nationals team that has been a major disappointment and, as I mentioned, have been sellers this month.
Gonzalez reportedly is drawing trade interest from several teams.
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Clearly, there aren't many enticing options out there right now. The Red Sox failing to get bullpen help before the non-waiver deadline put them in a tough position, and there's a good chance they stand pat once again as Dombrowski and Alex Cora both have expressed their confidence in the current staff.
With two days remaining before the waiver deadline, there's time for more names to pop up on this list. But right this moment, these are about the only sensible options on the table.