RADIO
Archie Bradley 2019 Outlook: Diamondbacks Presumed Closer
6 years agoIf possession is 9/10 of the law, we can reliably assume that Archie Bradley has the Diamondbacks closer position. Bradley played all of 2018 under the exhausting but mostly effective Brad Boxberger. The Diamondbacks declined to tender an offer to Boxberger, and Torey Lovullo is on record as saying that if he had to choose today, he’d pick Bradley as his closer. In 2018, Bradley put up a 3.64 ERA, 1.14 ERA, and a 3.57 xFIP. He did manage three saves, but he also suffered eight blown saves. That could be blamed on the lack of assurance from Lovullo, but closers have to perform in stressful situations, and so far in his career, Bradley has just four saves to his 14 blown saves. The bright side to Bradley’s struggles in 2018 was that they were mostly limited to the second half of the season when he struggled with fatigue and suffered through a 5.14 ERA from August to September. The Diamondbacks hope that better usage will keep Bradley fresh and allow him to be their closer of the future or at least a valuable trade asset during their rebuild. He can be obtained for a meager 18th-round draft pick.
