Can Bailey Stay Healthy?
The Patriots are finishing off their regular season and are headed to the playoffs. The Bruins are on a 7-game win streak and the Celtics are off to a 0-3 start.
Now you can add Red Sox to the list of things to talk about.
The Sox made a trade with the A's for closer Andrew Bailey sending Josh Reddick and two low level prospects to Oakland in return.
Ryan Johnston and Mike Flynn, in for Toucher & Rich this week, spoke with Scott Lauber of the Boston Globe about the trade, discussing concerns about Bailey's health, why the A's made this move and the Sox options for right field.
Bailey had Tommy John surgery in college and has battled elbow issues in at least three season. In the 2010 and 2011 seasons combined Bailey only threw a total of 90 innings due to bone chips in his elbow. He had surgery after the 2010 season, but was still plagued by elbow and forearm issues in 2011 that kept him out until late May. With his injury history, is Bailey going to be reliable enough to be a closer for the Sox?
"I talked to him about two weeks ago when these trade rumors really first got going and he told me, and he said it again last night, that he's in the best shape he's been in health-wise, really since he's been in the big leagues. He started throwing in early December, which is earlier than usual for him, and has no issues that he's rehabbing from. He has no issues that he's dealing with really for the first time since 2009."
Bailey has had good success against AL East teams over the years, but playing in Boston is different than playing in Oakland. Will Bailey be able to handle the pressure of playing in Boston?
"You never know until you throw the guy out there, but his success in the AL East, and he has had some success against AL East teams, his familiarity the East Coast and Northeast baseball and familiarity with Bobby Valentine ought to make it a lot easier to adjust."
The guys also discussed why the Oakland A's would make this trade and what will the Red Sox do in right field?
Listen:
