With the Boston bullpen struggling and Craig Kimbrel out three to six weeks to fix cartilage in his left knee, this trade was a no-brainer for the Red Sox.
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The Red Sox announced at 1:42 a.m. eastern Saturday that they had acquired Arizona closer Brad Ziegler in a trade for prospects Luis Alejandro Basabe and Jose Almonte.
Now whether Kimbrel is out for the season or if he can recover quick from the meniscus tear, the team will miss his presence. He struck out 27 and allowed one home run in 381⁄3 innings.
Kimbrel was among the six Red Sox players named to the American League All-Star team on Tuesday and was set to appear in his fifth All-Star Game.
Almonte is now unranked by SoxProspects.com, but the 20-year-old has pitched well for Greenville this season since joining the team on May 16.
1B Hanley Ramirez (left shin contusion) was not in the starting lineup Saturday after fouling a ball off a foot for the second straight game Friday. “It’s something you deal with, and somebody else is going to have to fill his spot when we start back up after the break”. Koji would give up a ringing single to Evan Longoria to start the frame, and only avoided letting the tying run come to the plate when he was gifted a strikeout call on a 3-2 pitch to Steve Souza that was clearly outside.
All season long, there has been one problem with the Boston Red Sox, and that is pitching.
Ziegler, who owns Arizona’s club record of 43 consecutive saves, is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that another reason I didn’t like him being traded was his twin brother.
Uehara is 2-3 with a 4.96 ERA and three saves. Veteran closer and hero during the 2011 World Series run, Koji Uehara is dependable, but he’s 41 years old.
Ziegler’s sidearm/submarine delivery is not only previously vacant territory on the Red Sox’ pitching staff, but also a fresh arm to help an ailing bullpen. Martinez is batting.283/.306/.383 with a home run and three RBIs in 32 games this season with the Indians.
May 21, 2016: Milwaukee Brewers Infielder Aaron Hill (9) [4171] throws out New York Mets Catcher Kevin Plawecki on a ground ball during the game between Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets at Citi Field in Flushing, NY. He has allowed just one home run in 38 1/3 innings this season, didn’t allow any in 58 1/3 innings in 2011 and has never allowed more than five in a single season.
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Enter Ziegler. Though his 81 career saves are nowhere near the totals of Kimbrel (242 career saves), Ziegler has been nothing short of reliable during his nine-year career.
