Daisuke Matsuzaka has made three relief appearances for the Mets since shifting to the bullpen and he’s been not terrible in them with one run allowed and seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings, so naturally manager Terry Collins is now talking him up as a potential closer.
Seriously.
Matsuzaka has a combined 5.36 ERA in six seasons since a strong 2008 for the Red Sox, but Collins told Mike Vorkunov of the Newark Star Ledger there’s “no question about it” when asked if the 33-year-old right-hander has what it takes to thrive in the closer role.
Collins also said:
To which I’d say ... we’ll see. Matsuzaka has been bad enough for long enough that a few good relief outings should hardly convince anyone that he’s turned the corner into a valuable bullpen asset. And while Collins says “those walks went away” Matsuzaka has actually walked eight batters in 16 innings this season between Triple-A and the majors.
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