Three years ago the Red Sox went all-in to acquire Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres, giving up top prospect Manuel Margot along with some other valued minor-league pieces. Kimbrel was entering his prime with a healthy amount of years still left on his contract.
According to the New York Post, Dave Dombrowski may be exploring a similar route in an effort to replace Kimbrel.
The Post is reporting that the Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, Braves and Phillies have all expressed the “strongest interest” in acquiring Edwin Diaz from the Mariners.
The 24-year-old Diaz is valued as perhaps the best closer in baseball, coming off a 2018 season in which he led the big leagues with 57 saves to go along with a 1.96 ERA, striking out 124 in 73 1/3 innings. The righty is under team control for another four years, not becoming arbitration-eligible until after the 2019 campaign.
As the report points out, the cost for Diaz would be substantial, with the Mariners either asking teams to take on a good chunk of the remaining $120 million left on Robinson Cano’s contract (which is for five more years) or send Seattle a package filled with top talent.
While the idea of turning the closing role over to Diaz would be ideal for the Red Sox, the cost might be simply too much considering the lack of elite talent in their farm system. Dave Dombrowski has already stated that Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes are in-house candidates to fill the role if Kimbrel leaves via free agency. There are also a litany of intriguing, albeit somewhat flawed options, in the free agent market, as well, with Zach Britton, Andrew Miller, Jeurys Familia, Kelvin Herrera, Joe Kelly and David Robertson all available.
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