Another day of free agency has gone by and the Red Sox have missed out on another reliever. It’s time to act and lock up Craig Kimbrel before it’s too late.
The Red Sox have used a very patient methodology to the offseason this year. Dave Dombrowski and his staff had made moves here and there, but nothing groundbreaking like last season. Yes, re-signing Nathan Eovaldi and Steve Pearce is big, but Boston still needs help in the bullpen. With Joe Kelly packing up for Los Angeles and Craig Kimbrel still a question mark, the time to act is now.
The latest domino in the free agent relief lottery to topple was Zach Britton. It was reported on Sunday that Britton would be returning to the Bronx on a 3-year $40M deal. And just like that, another strong arm is off the boards and the Red Sox are left on the outside looking in.
Britton deal with #Yankees is three years for about $40M, source tells The Athletic. NYY can exercise fourth-year option after second year. If they do not, Britton can opt out. Option would take deal beyond $50M. Opt-out details first reported by @JonHeyman and @JeffPassan.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 6, 2019
The rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox has heated back up over the last few seasons and has now fully extended to the offseason. Not only have the Yankees taken Britton of the market and removing him as a closing option for the Red Sox, but they’re now also making a push for Adam Ottavino.
Ottavino remains the final big free agent reliever not named Craig Kimbrel that is still available. If the Yankees poach Ottavino as well then the Red Sox will have zero choice but to make the plunge for Kimbrel.
This can be a damaging move as Boston is already in the danger zone when it comes to luxury tax penalties. And if they give in to Kimbrel’s demands, that’ll all but take away any money they were budgeting to re-sign Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Chris Sale.
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Now, the free agency market hasn’t been the kindest to Craig Kimbrel either. His high demands not only in years but also dollar value have kept teams away from the fireballing closer. He’s also coming off a rocky offseason where he was more lights on than lights out. It’s telling that Alex Cora chose Sale to close out the World Series and Kimbrel.
If Dave Dombrowski can work with Kimbrel to make a deal that is favorable to both the team and star pitcher, that’s a perfect outcome. But this is professional sports and that would be a miracle. If somehow the Red Sox can appeal to Kimbrel’s competitive fire and get him to buy in on a smaller deal that could lead to other players getting deals, we may be able to get him back. Winning can be a hell of a motivator.
The other benefit to bringing Kimbrel back is that he is already built into the chemistry of this team. They can avoid the awkwardness of bringing someone new and trying to plunge them right into the spotlight. Kimbrel is already used to the harshness of Red Sox Nation as well as the Boston media. The more Dombrowski can do to retain as much of the 2018 squad the better.
The time is now and Boston needs to act before the sands are fully through the hourglass. There are other teams that are interested in Kimbrel and they don’t have the luxury tax issues the Red Sox do. It seems like there is a serious game of chicken going on between Kimbrel and the MLB GM’s. It’s just a matter of who will budge first and be willing to alter their demands.
Spring training is right around the corner and at this rate, Boston may be heading to St. Petersburg without a closer. The organization needs to show some urgency in solving the closer problem or risk losing out. With other teams ramping up their efforts to improve their squads, it’s time Boston did the same. Everyone will be gunning to knock the Red Sox off of the throne in 2019 and with Kimbrel in the pen, they’ll have one more weapon to defend the crown.