Matt Barnes assumed a new role ahead of Saturday night’s Red Sox game against the Orioles at Camden Yards.
It has nothing to do with his potential usage out of the bullpen — more on that later. Barnes is now the longest-tenured pitcher on Boston’s roster, having entered the organization as a first-round draft pick out of Connecticut in 2011.
Brandon Workman previously held that title. The right-hander was drafted in the second round out of Texas in 2010, [...]
Matt Barnes assumed a new role ahead of Saturday night’s Red Sox game against the Orioles at Camden Yards.
It has nothing to do with his potential usage out of the bullpen — more on that later. Barnes is now the longest-tenured pitcher on Boston’s roster, having entered the organization as a first-round draft pick out of Connecticut in 2011.
Brandon Workman previously held that title. The right-hander was drafted in the second round out of Texas in 2010, and his time with the Red Sox came to an end Friday night. Workman and fellow reliever Heath Hembree were traded to the Phillies for right-handed starters Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.
"I’ve always been a firm believer in leading by example," Barnes said. "If other people see some veteran guys or tenured guys doing the right things, then they kind of follow along."
Barnes and Workman shared 10 seasons together in Boston’s organization, but it wasn’t their first time on the same team. They were both members of the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2009. Barnes had just finished his freshman year with the Huskies and Workman was coming off his sophomore year with the Longhorns.
"Honestly, I don’t remember a whole lot," Barnes said. "Seeing a big right-handed dude from Texas throwing hard — I was like, ‘Alright, those guys are cut a little different down there.’ "
Barnes, Workman and right-hander Anthony Ranaudo were among Boston’s top pitching prospects in the early 2010s. They were teammates at Double-A Portland in 2013, and it was Ranaudo who turned heads with a 2.95 earned-run average over 19 starts. Barnes posted a 4.33 ERA across 24 starts and was struggling to harness the curveball he now features as a primary weapon.
"(Workman has) probably helped me more than any other player has helped me in my professional career," Barnes said. "I remember sitting in Double-A with him and Ranaudo behind an L-screen trying to figure out how to throw a curveball, because I for the life of me couldn’t do it."
Barnes was moved to the bullpen full-time with the Red Sox in 2016 and made 264 appearances over the next four seasons. He pitched to a 3.84 ERA in that span and struck out 360 in 262 1/3 innings. Barnes was outstanding in the 2018 playoffs, allowing just three hits and posting a 1.04 ERA in 10 appearances on his way to a World Series ring.
"(Workman) was a great teammate and somebody you could always count on to be there regardless of the situation," Barnes said. "He’d also give you a kick in the [butt] if you need it, which some of us need."
Jake Peavy and cash went to the Giants in the 2014 trade that returned Hembree and fellow pitcher Eduardo Escobar. Hembree made 251 appearances with Boston and also turned in 4 1/3 scoreless frames during that most recent title run.
"Obviously when Heath got traded over here in ’14, I’ve been playing with him since then every day as well," Barnes said. "Definitely a hard one, but at the end of the day it’s part of the business."
Could Barnes be next? He has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining before hitting free agency in 2022. The 30-year-old would certainly figure to have value on the market considering the return fetched for Workman and Hembree, who are both older and carried less of a consistent recent track record.
"You definitely think there’s a possibility," Barnes said. "But in the middle of a game when two of my closest friends on the team — if not my closest friends on the team — get traded, I’m not sitting there worrying about, ‘Oh no, am I next?’ We’ve got an eight-run lead in a ballgame we need to win tonight.
"I’m focused on making sure I’m staying locked in on going out there and getting a job done if and when my name is called. I’d probably be lying to you if I said I didn’t wonder about it — am I, will I. I kind of keep that on the back burner as much as possible and prepare to go out there and do a job every night."
Barnes will occupy a rover role at the back end of the bullpen, possibly forfeiting some save chances to Josh Taylor, Austin Brice or Ryan Brasier. It’s something Barnes struggled with at times last season when the Red Sox attempted to emphasize matchups and declined to name a true closer. Workman was finally given the ninth inning in midseason and other pitchers fell in line after Barnes posted a 9.69 ERA in 15 June appearances.
"There was some idea of when I was going to pitch later in the game based on the score, but there was still a little bit of uncertainty of how exactly that was going to work," Barnes said. "Having gone through that and talking with (Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke) today, there’s a greater clarity on exactly what he’s looking for."
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25