Bard Back To Bullpen

In what should come as a less than surprising move, the Red Sox have announced that Daniel Bard will be available out of the bullpen until Friday, when he's scheduled to be back in the starting rotation.

All of this bouncing around is the result of Sunday's rain out, which caused Bard to miss his scheduled start. It's not rare that a pitcher will get his spot in the rotation skipped when something like this happens, it keeps the rest of the staff on their regular schedule. But with the way the Red Sox have been playing, I think we can all agree that no one would be shocked if Bard makes at least two or three appearances in relief this week. While I do think Bard belongs in the bullpen right now, more specifically as the closer, it really is unfortunate. He hasn't done anything as a starter to deserve to be sent to the bullpen. Hopefully this doesn't shake his confidence.

The biggest thing this "temporary" move says to me is that the Sox are willing to put Bard back in the bullpen until Andrew Bailey can return if they have to. What the casual Red Sox fan may not know, is that the Sox have a pretty good starter in Triple A right now. Aaron Cook has been cruising so far in the minor leagues. He's 2-0 in three starts with a 1.35 ERA and a complete game.  Now I'll be the first one to admit that the difference between Triple A and the big leagues is great. But Cook pitched in for the Rockies for the better part of 9 years, and was named an All-Star as recently as 2008. He also has a May 1st opt-out clause in his contract. It may be unfortunate for Bard, but it would be a shame for the Sox to waste a decent veteran pitcher by just letting him go. Especially with the starting staff struggling the way they have so far this season.

I said as soon as it was announced that Bailey was going to miss significant time that I thought Bard should go back to being the closer.  It quickly became clear that Melancon and Aceves weren't going to be able to get the job done, and there really aren't any other options. What I would love to see this week is Bard get the save in 2 games, and then turn in 7 or 8 quality innings on Friday.  Not only would this boost the team's confidence, but he would see just how valuable he is to the team.  It would be ideal if he stepped up and said he would take over closing until Bailey can return, but I can't blame the guy for wanting to start. However, based on what is happening this week with him, and the timeline with Cook, it wouldn't surprise me if Bard finds himself as the closer before the end of the month. At least until Bailey returns. Then the problem is who gets bumped from the starting rotation. But we'll cross that bridge if/when we get to it.

Follow me on Twitter- @TwittinSports and/or Like the blog on Facebook- facebook.com/abloopandablast