Ottavino allowed one run on two walk during the eighth inning of Tuesday's 7-3 extra-inning loss to the Mariners.

EDGE Analysis

Ottavino failed to protect Boston's one-run lead, issuing his fifth and sixth walks of the season. He's issued those six free passes in just 6.2 innings. Combined with Darwinzon Hernandez, another late-inning option for the Red Sox, the two have combined to walk 14 over 13.2 innings.

Ottavino allowed one walk over a scoreless eighth inning in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Toronto.

EDGE Analysis

Ottavino recorded his second hold in guiding a two-run into the ninth inning for Matt Barnes to record his third save. That's the preferred formula for manager Alex Cora, who also got another scoreless inning out of Matt Andriese in the seventh. Ottavino has had an uneven start, but he'll often be used in the last third of games.

Ottavino (2-1) picked up the win in relief Saturday against the White Sox after pitching a scoreless eighth inning. He struck out all three batters he faced.

EDGE Analysis

Ottavino was lights out Saturday, as he tossed 10 of his 12 pitches for strikes while striking out the side -- Yermin Mercedes, Zack Collins and Luis Robert -- with ease. This was Ottavino's best outing of the season by a wide margin, but he has been very inconsistent to begin the year and has given up runs in three of his six appearances to date, which translates to a less-than-appealing 7.71 ERA across 4.2 innings.

Ottavino (1-1) allowed one run on two hits and a hit batsman over a third of an inning to pick up the loss against Minnesota on Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

After Alex Verdugo doubled in the game-tying runs in the eighth, Ottavino gave it right back with a shaky ninth, the third time in five outings he's surrendered runs. In 3.2 innings over five appearances, Ottavino has allowed four runs (9.82 ERA) on seven hits, three walks and one hit batter. Even though manager Alex Cora hasn't officially declared a closer, it's clear Matt Barnes is the man after he and Ottavino battled for the job during spring training. Ottavino is still expected to pitch late in games; however, that could change if he continues to be a liability.

Ottavino allowed two runs on three hits and struck out one over one-plus innings in Saturday's 6-4 extra-inning win over Baltimore.

EDGE Analysis

Ottavino entered with one out in the seventh inning as Boston clung to a one-run lead. He and Matt Barnes were the main competitors for the closer role since spring training, but manager Alex Cora never made an official announcement. The manager brought Ottavino in to shepherd a lead through innings seven and eight. He retired both batters faced in the seventh with a man on second but ran into eighth-inning trouble. The game was shaping up to be the first that Boston would need a closer, and Cora made a decision to go with Barnes, but the save chance for Barnes never materialized.

Ottavino won't have the clear path to serve as the Red Sox's Opening Day closer that it looked like he might have in recent days, as Matt Barnes' positive COVID-19 test was ruled a false positive Monday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

There's been very little to separate Ottavino and Barnes in recent seasons, and they've been similarly effective this spring, so it was tough to say either of them had much more than a 50 percent chance to win the job. Barnes' positive test seemingly opened an opportunity for Ottavino to open the year in the role, which could make it his until he pitched his way out of it. Now that Barnes is back in camp, however, the job looks like it's back to being a coin flip.

Ottavino allowed an unearned run on one hit in one inning of Sunday's spring game against the Twins.

EDGE Analysis

Ottavino was victimized by a Rafael Devers throwing error. He finished up the Florida portion of spring training with two unearned runs allowed over 6.1 innings and a chance to close games pending the status of Matt Barnes, who tested positive for COVID-19.

Ottavino could step in as Boston's closer to begin the regular season after Matt Barnes tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

EDGE Analysis

Manager Alex Cora announced Barnes' positive test result Saturday and said that the team hasn't yet determined its pitching plans to begin the regular season. However, Ottavino would be the most likely option to handle ninth-inning duties while Barnes is sidelined as long as Ottavino doesn't have to go through contact tracing. Ottavino was competing for the closer's job during camp and tossed 5.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts during five Grapefruit League appearances.

Ottavino allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning in Wednesday's spring game against Atlanta.

EDGE Analysis

Ottavino made his spring debut in Grapefruit League play, following starter Matt Andriese in the fourth inning. He's competing to be Boston's closer along with Matt Barnes, who was impressive in his spring debut earlier this week. Ottavino has 19 career saves over 460 relief appearances and briefly served as a closer for a couple of stretches with Colorado in 2015 and 2016. Boston manager Alex Cora reiterated to Ian Browne of MLB.com that a closer will not be named until later in spring training, but the manager said Ottavino will be given the ball for clean innings, facing both righties and lefties.

The Yankees traded Ottavino along with pitching prospect Frank German to the Red Sox on Monday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Ottavino was excellent in his first season in New York in 2019, with his 31.1 percent strikeout rate canceling out a 10.6 percent walk rate and leading to a 1.90 ERA. That ERA spiked all the way to 5.89 in a small sample of 18.1 innings last season, though his underlying numbers told a more optimistic story, as his strikeout rate fell only slightly to 29.4 percent while his walk rate came in at a more palatable 10.6 percent. Still, the Yankees evidently don't believe he'll be worth the $8 million he's scheduled to make this season, so they sent him to their top rival in what appears to be little more than a salary dump. The move potentially boosts Ottavino's fantasy value, as Matt Barnes is hardly an immovable object at closer in Boston should the 35-year-old return to his previous form.