The Boston Red Sox acquired right-hander Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The deal has since been announced.
In return, the Padres acquired four Red Sox' prospects: outfielder Manuel Margot, shortstop Javier Guerra, infielder Carlos Asuaje, and left-hander Logan Allen. Kimbrel is quite an add for the Red Sox bullpen. The group struggled last season, posting the fifth-highest ERA in the big leagues, as well as a -1.4 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs, coming in at the bottom of baseball. Kimbrel is the elite closer and bullpen arm that the Red Sox lacked in 2015. With Koji Uehara going down to injury late in the year, Boston could never really find any back-end relief pitching to close out games. Kimbrel will probably fill in at closer, with Uehara probably becoming a set-up guy. Red Sox' president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is notorious for not being able to build good bullpens. When Dombrowski was the GM of the Detroit Tigers, their relief pitching would almost always be their downfall. It appears, through this trade, that Dombrowski is prioritizing bullpen with Boston. Kimbrel is a good asset not only because of his performance on the field, but also because of his payroll obligations. He is under contract for the next two seasons for just $24 million, with a club option for the 2018 season valued at $13 million with a $1 million buyout. A player of his caliber would definitely be worth more than $12 million per season, which makes him such a valuable addition to the Red Sox. Last season, Kimbrel was not as good as he had been in the past, but was still plenty good. The 27-year-old Kimbrel went 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA in 61 appearances out of the Padres bullpen, saving 39 games in 43 opportunities. He posted an 87 to 22 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Even with a solid season, 2015 was the first time Kimbrel had not been voted an All-Star since his rookie season in 2010. From 2010 to 2014, Kimbrel was by far the best closer in baseball. He led the National League in saves every single season, being named to the All-Star Game in each. Kimbrel was so good that he averaged 46 saves per year during that stretch. The Braves, Kimbrel's former team, dealt him to the Padres along with Melvin Upton Jr. just before the start of last season, getting four players and a competitive balance draft. With this trade, Kimbrel will be on his third team in as many seasons. The Padres received what is considered to be a great return for Kimbrel to replenish their prospect system. All four of the prospects San Diego received for the relief pitcher are amongst the Red Sox' Top 30, according to MLB Pipeline, with Margot checking in at No. 3, Guerra at No. 6, Asuaje at No. 23, and Allen at No. 25. Margot and Guerra are also included in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 overall prospects, at Nos. 25 and 76, respectively. Margot ended the 2015 season in Double-A; Guerra ended the year in Class-A. --Devan Fink
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The Seattle Mariners announced the acquisition of right-handed relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit from the San Diego Padres, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported. In return for Benoit, the Padres recieved two minor leaguers: right-hander Enyel De Los Santos and infielder Nelson Ward. The Mariners have already proven quite busy during this Hot Stove season, acquiring the likes of Nathan Karns in a blockbuster with Tampa Bay, re-signing Franklin Gutierrez, and closing in on signing catcher Chris Iannetta. Under the new leadership in the front office, headed by new GM Jerry Dipoto, Seattle is obviously going in a completely different direction this offseason than it had in years past. The Mariners are being more aggressive and are making more moves early. Benoit is going to be a major upgrade in Seattle. Collectively, the Mariners' bullpen posted a 2.5 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement last season, good for 20th in the Majors. Their 4.58 ERA as a group was second-highest. Seattle's bullpen lacked depth. They had a couple solid arms here and there, but were forced to release their closer, Fernando Rodney, after poor play. Benoit will provide the depth that Seattle desperately needs going into 2016. Benoit has been a solid relief pitcher throughout his career, but had a really nice year in 2015. He went 6-5 with a 2.34 ERA in 65 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. He struck out 63, but also walked 23, leading his FIP to register at 3.75. The 38-year-old Benoit is signed through next season and will earn $8 million in what is the last of a three-year, $22 million contract he signed with San Diego during the 2013-2014 offseason. --Devan Fink Major League Baseball organizations had until today at 5 PM eastern to offer their impending free agents qualifying offers.
A qualifying offer is a one-year, $15.8 million deal, which is the average of the top 125 one-year salaries in the game. Any impending free agent can be offered a qualifying offer, however, that player must have spent the entire season with the organization that is offering them the deal (i.e. traded players like Johnny Cueto cannot be offered a qualifying offer). If the player accepts the qualifying offer, they are basically re-signing with their former club to a one-year, $15.8 million deal. If the player rejects the qualifying offer, they become a free agent as scheduled. However, if they sign with a different team, then their original team (the team they are coming from) will receive an extra first round draft pick at the end of the first round. The team that signs the player loses their first round pick, as long as they are not within the top 10 in the draft order (which in that case, they would lose their second round pick). In the three-year history of the qualifying offer, no player has accepted the deal. An MLB-record 20 players were offered a qualifying offer today. They have one week to make a decision whether they want to accept or decline the deal:
--Devan Fink
The Texas Rangers announced the acquisition of outfielder Will Venable from the San Diego Padres.
Minor league catcher and outfielder Marcus Greene and a player to be named later will be headed back to the Padres in the deal, it was announced. According to Corey Brock of MLB.com, Padres general manager A.J. Preller considers the PTBNL a “key” piece of the deal. Brock reports that the player is closer to the Major Leagues. The 32-year-old Venable will provide outfield depth to the Rangers, who have been working with injuries to Josh Hamilton. Only Ryan Strausborger is listed on their bench as an outfielder, so they obviously felt Venable would be a worthy addition to their club, especially as they try to get a playoff spot down the stretch. Venable reportedly cleared waivers. He will be a free agent at the end of this season, as he completes a two-year, $8.5 million extension signed with the Padres. On the season, Venable is hitting .258/.318/.378/.696 (98 OPS+) in 308 plate appearances. On defense, Venable serves as a just-below-average option; he’s been worth -6 defensive runs saved in the outfield this year. He can play all three outfield spots. The Rangers did not make a huge move in any respect, but definitely got an upgrade in the outfield, adding Venable to be a solid fourth outfield option. It isn’t flashy, but trades like this one can play a big role in a team’s success down the stretch. —Devan Fink
It's officially deadline week. Here are the latest rumors surrounding Major League Baseball as we approach the non-waiver trade deadline. This will be done daily up to the deadline.
Latest updates are at the top.
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