The Over The Monster Podcast: The Matt Barnes Problem

Welcome back to another episode of The Over the Monster Podcast, your spot to get the latest happenings with the Red Sox. As is typically the case for this show, we must note this episode was recorded Tuesday afternoon before Boston’s win over the Twins.

But that doesn’t mean our first topic was outdated, and in fact it only became more topical. We spent the first portion of this episode discussing the struggles from Matt Barnes at the back of the rotation right now. We touch on just how worried we are about it and whether or not it’s time for a change in role. If a change is made, does that really solve the problem or just move it? We also discuss whether or not we think the Red Sox are regretting that extension and where we think he will ultimately rank among Boston relievers the rest of the season.

From there, we touch on a number of random topics, including the team’s jerking of Tanner Houck between Triple-A and the majors over the past month, and what we thought the team would do to make room for him on the roster. We ultimately know they sent down Jarren Duran, which we suspected would happen, and on the show we wonder if that’s the best move for both him and the team. We also talk about Nick Yorke’s rise in the Red Sox system and what Kyle Schwarber’s move to first base will mean for the bench.

Finally, we answer a handful of listener questions, including a look at playoff odds, what it would take for J.D. Martinez to opt out, and Nathan Eovaldi’s Cy Young case.

We hope you enjoyed today’s show. If so, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave us a rating and a review. We’ll be back with you next week.