Red Sox hope Matt Barnes will be ready to return on Monday

Following a rocky spring, Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes didn’t pitch in either of the team’s first two games of the season despite Boston using nine different relievers.

After Saturday’s game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora shared that Barnes was dealing with lower back pain. Barnes probably won’t be available for Sunday’s series finale, but the Red Sox are hopeful he’ll be ready for their upcoming series against the Tigers, which begins Monday. Cora told reporters prior to Sunday’s game that he threw earlier in the day and his back is feeling better, via The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey.

Barnes’s back problem is just the most recent of a few issues the reliever has dealt with since the end of last season. In the first half of the 2021 season, Barnes asserted himself as the Red Sox’ closer, recording 19 saves with a 2.61 ERA that helped him earn an All-Star selection and a contract extension.

But Barnes fell off in the second half of the season, giving up 12 earned runs in 16 2/3 innings pitched over 22 appearances. He lost his closer role by the end of August and was sparingly used in the final month of the regular season. Barnes pitched in just one game in the Red Sox’ ALCS run — a 14-6 win over the Rays in Game 2 of the ALDS.

Barnes dealt with velocity issues during spring training. His fastball was topping out at 92-93 mph, down from his 95.8 mph average in 2021. Cora believed that the Red Sox were able to find the mechanical issue causing his velocity to slow down.

“I think it’s something about his leg kick,” Cora said. “Last year he was a lot tighter. Now he’s like loose. If you want to use a reference, it’s like a figure skater. When you open, it slows down. When you close, you’re actually faster, quicker. So hopefully that’s what gets him going. Kind of engaged in his delivery. And then he doesn’t have to create. Right now, mechanically he’s so off and then he tries to create velocity and it’s not there.”

Barnes hasn’t pitched since the issue was detected last weekend.

The Red Sox will also be without second baseman Trevor Story in Sunday’s game due to an illness. He recorded his first hit — a double — as a member of the Red Sox in Saturday’s loss. Jonathan Araúz will start in his place and hit ninth in the lineup.

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