Andrew Bailey pitched himself out of the Red Sox’s closer role and manager John Farrell has settled on Koji Uehara as the new closer, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.
Uehara has long been one of the best, most underrated relievers in baseball and signed a one-year, $4.25 million deal with the Red Sox as a free agent this offseason despite coming into this season with a 3.13 ERA and ridiculous 188/26 K/BB ratio in 176 career innings.
He’s been fantastic in a setup role for the Red Sox this year, tossing 30 innings with a 2.10 ERA and 42/7 K/BB ratio while holding opponents to a .176 batting average. And he even has a little closing experience, saving 13 games for the Orioles in 2010.
