Red Sox acquire Craig Kimbrel from Padres
The Red Sox have acquired Craig Kimbrel from the Padres on Friday
The Boston Red Sox finished with 78 wins and a last place finish in the American League East in 2015. Their pitching staff from their starting rotation to their bullpen were largely mediocre.
This being the case, Boston was expected to make some moves and they have officially taken the first step to completely revamping their pitching staff during this offseason. On Friday, it was announced they have acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres:
Source: #RedSox acquiring Kimbrel from #Padres. Return not yet known.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 14, 2015
#Padres getting Margot, Guerra, Asuaje, and Allen from #RedSox for Kimbrel, per @JonHeymanCBS, @alexspeier and others.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 14, 2015
The 27-year-old finished with 37 saves last season during his lone year in San Diego. Before SoCal, Kimbrel played for the Atlanta Braves from 2010-2014. He made the All-Star team in four consecutive seasons from 2011-14, finishing with more than 40 saves in each season.
The Padres have already been as active as any team in baseball; San Diego also traded reliever Joaquin Benoit to the Seattle Mariners yesterday minor-leaguers.
In August, the Red Sox hired former Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski to be their President of Baseball Operations. Dombrowski has said that in his quest to revamp Boston’s pitching staff, he will also be seeking a No. 1 starter to lead the rotation. Kimbrel helps solves their closer problem, and they should remain active in the market for the top starting pitchers.