Red Sox acquire Brad Ziegler to strengthen depleted bullpen

The Red Sox trade for Brad Zeigler from the Arizona Diamondbacks to bolster their bullpen. He could play a huge role in the second half of Boston’s season.

The Red Sox, under trigger man Dave Dombrowski, hit on another trade target late into Friday night. This time, addressing the ever growing need in the bullpen by bringing in veteran Brad Ziegler from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

So far this season, the side-arm throwing righty has an ERA of 2.82 to go along with 18 saves collected in the desert. In the 38.1 innings pitched for the D-Backs, the 36-year-old has 27 strikeouts to 15 walks, and an opponent batting average against of .281. He also has picked up 2 wins and dropped 3 games for losses.

Brad Ziegler joins the Red Sox at a very intriguing time, as in the last 32 hours Dombrowski has successfully pulled off 3 trades, all with a very specific purpose in mind. First, by adding Aaron Hill to provide a right-handed bat to come off the bench and potentially split time with Travis Shaw, and Michael Martinez to bring more versatility into the fold.

And now, by adding the former closer Ziegler, the Sox have added a much needed arm to the bullpen.

This deal makes sense for a lot of reasons. First and foremost is the obvious need in the Red Sox pitching department. On Friday, it became even more apparent as both Craig Kimbrel amd Junichi Tazawa were unavailable to pitch because of injury. So far, the news has been positive in regards to their ailments, but the timing of this trade may be cause for concern.

Boston also didn’t have to give up too much in the way of talent to acquire Ziegler, as the Sox only sent two minor leaguers, Jose Almonte and Luis Alejandro Basabe, out west.

Almonte is a 20-year-old starting pitcher who was still in Single-A Greenville after signing with the Red Sox in 2012. Basabe, who also had been in Greenville since 2012, is a center fielder who was producing well and batting over .300 this season.

Overall, it’s a more reasonable amount of young talent and not quite the sting many fans experienced with the Aaron Hill trade. Giving up one of your better pitching prospects hurts.

Next: Red Sox acquire Michael Martinez

You could have argued Boston’s most desperate need before these moves were made was a solid starting pitcher-and without any question it is now-but, you could have also debated it was relief in the late innings. Both have seemingly been on the top of the list ever since Carson Smith and Eduardo Rodriguez went down with injury at the beginning of the season. And now with relief pitching being addressed, there appears little doubt a shiny new starting pitcher will be arriving at Logan just around the corner.