Daniel Bard’s career has taken many unexpected twists and turns. Will his latest stop be a lasting one?
When it comes to the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen, the major story this offseason has surrounded the unknown future of closer Mark Melancon and whether or not he would be traded. However, the Pirates front office has bolstered their bullpen with the signings of relief pitchers Juan Nicasio and Neftali Feliz. The Pirates continued that trend of signing relief pitching by signing former Boston Red Sox setup man Daniel Bard to a minor league contract on Monday. However, Bard’s story is just a little bit different than the rest of the signings.
Bard, a first round pick of the Red Sox in 2006, made his major league debut in May of 2009 and became the solidified set up man for closer Jonathan Papelbon. While leading the American League in relief appearances with 73 in 2010, Bard compiled a 1.93 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 74.2 innings, all while holding opposing hitters to a .176 batting average. In 2011, he made 70 more appearances while compiling a 3.33 ERA and holding hitters to a .179 batting average. Bard also set a club record by recording 25 consecutive scoreless innings that spanned from May 27 to July 31.
Throughout those two years, the Red Sox had winning teams but failed to make the playoffs in both seasons. Bard was an influential part of the Red Sox success, providing a solidified duo at the back end of the Red Sox bullpen along with Papelbon.
In 2012, Bard was converted to a starter, a transition that didn’t exactly pan out for the star reliever. In 17 appearances, which included 10 starts, Bard was 5-6 with a 6.22 ERA and 43 walks in 59.1 innings. Bard began the 2013 season in the minor leagues, before briefly being recalled to make two appearances at the end of April. He spent the rest of the season pitching in the minor leagues before being designated for assignment by the Red Sox on September 1st. He was claimed off of waivers by the Chicago Cubs, but did not end up playing for their major league club.
Those two appearances in April of 2013 were the most recent for Bard. In January of 2014, Bard underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery to address shoulder issues that he endured for a few years.
One month after undergoing surgery, Bard signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. He made only four appearances in 2014 for the Hickory Crawdads, the class-A affiliate for the Rangers. In only two-thirds of an inning within those four appearances, Bard showed control issues, giving up 13 earned runs while walking nine batters and hitting seven of them. He was released by the Rangers on June 18th and did not pitch for the rest of the season.
Bard’s journey from being arguably the best setup man in baseball to a pitcher trying to revive his career is a very interesting one. He has experienced success, mostly in 2010 and 2011, and has endured setbacks which include his control and injury issues. Though his deal with the Pirates is a minor league deal that does not include an invitation to spring training, Bard has been given an opportunity to be one of the Pirates next reclamation projects. This offseason, the Pirates have signed a few players, including Bard, who could fall into the category of being a “reclamation project” for the Pirates and major league pitching coach Ray Searage. It isn’t surprising that Bard would want to attempt to revive his career with the organization, given that guys such as Francisco Liriano, Edinson Volquez, and J.A Happ have all revitalized their careers in Pittsburgh.
It is no guarantee that the 30-year-old right-hander, who has not pitched in the big leagues since 2013, will pitch for the Pirates major league club in 2016. He still has a long way to go before he is able to make an impact in the Pirates major league bullpen. However, if he could return to form by working on his control issues, getting healthy, and pitching like he did during his time with the Red Sox, the possibilities could be endless for the former dominant setup man.
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