Terry Francona has an idea how he wants to handle the closer’s job. He was reluctant to talk about it to reporters Tuesday morning because he wanted to talk to the pitchers involved in the decision.
The pitchers are thought to be Nick Wittgren, James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase. Francona recently named them as the pitchers he’d turn to late in a game when the season starts on April 1 against the Tigers at Comerica Park.
The sense was that Francona might be considering a closer by committee, at least for April, while he waits for relievers from one end of the bullpen to the other to settle into roles.
Francona’s track record says he prefers to have one closer. But it’s not like he’s afraid to innovate. Anyone who watched him use Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw and Allen late in the 2016 season all the way to Game 7 of the World Series knows that.
So what exactly is he going to do this year?