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The Boston Red Sox made the first big splash of the off-season when they acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres in exchange for four prospects. Fans are going to look at the move more in Boston setting up a deeper bullpen, but the prospects could make the deal a steal for San Diego years from now.
Kimbrel, 27, will be entering his seventh big league season with his third MLB team. The right-hander has 225 saves, which is more than any other closer since he held the position. He finished 2015 with 4-2 record and a 2.58 ERA in 61 appearances. Kimbrel struck out 87 in 59 1/3 innings. Since the start of his first full season in 2011, he leads major league relievers with 224 saves and ranks second among them with a 1.70 ERA and 523 strikeouts. The Red Sox will eat the remaining $25 million but now has their closer for the next three seasons until Kimbrel becomes a free agent. Koji Uehara will now become Boston’s set-up man in the bullpen.
"Moving to the American League, I'm excited," Kimbrel said during a conference call, according to ESPN.com. "It's a league that has the big bats. And being a pitcher, you want a challenge of facing the big bats."
Margot, Guerra, Allen and asuaje go to padres
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) November 14, 2015
None of the four prospects heading to San Diego will be on the major league roster to start 2016. Manuel Margot, Javier Guerra, Logan Allen and Carlos Asuaje are all still a ways away from making their marks in the majors.
"We didn't give anything up at the major league level to affect our club this year," Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. "It's good talent. Some of it's a while away."
Margot is touted as the best of the bunch. The 20-year-old outfielder wasn’t able to crack the Red Sox deep outfield but could have the opportunity at some point in 2016 to prove he could play in the majors. He was ranked as the fourth top prospect in the Boston farm system. Speed is a key component in his game. Margot has swiped 132 bases in four minor league seasons. He does have some pop, which would likely improve as he gets older and bigger.
Guerra is a 20-year-old shortstop that is coming off his best minor league season yet. He finished 2015 with a .279 BA, 15 HR and 68 RBI at the Single-A level. He’s still a few years away but he could slowly make his way to becoming an everyday-player at the highest level.
Allen is an 18-year-old pitcher. The right-hander pitched 24 1/3 innings in the minors this season. He had a combined 1.11 through eight starts. The youngster has plenty of more seasoning to go but he has a lot of promise and is off to a great start.
Asuaje has played second, third and left field throughout his three-year minor league career. The 24-year-old has been a quality hitter everywhere he’s been but his average dropped to .251 in Double-A this season. He doesn’t have too much pop although he had 15 HR and 101 RBI in 2014 through two different stops. He might be the closest to getting a sniff with the Padres before the rest.
