Let's be honest: Craig Kimbrel probably isn't going to come back to the Boston Red Sox via free agency this offseason. It's kind of a curse honestly: he was too good. He has a World Series ring. Now, it's time for him to go get paid somewhere and finish out his Hall of Fame (maybe?) worthy career elsewhere.
This leaves the Red Sox with a void though: whomst will be closing out games for the team next season? Odds are, the answer is going to come externally because, let's be honest, that bullpen was pretty shaky late in the season. There wasn't a guy I'd look at in there and say, "yes, this is the guy who should be closing out ballgames".
However, it looks like the Red Sox have found a guy they like. There's some reports swirling around saying that they have strong interest in some guy named Edwin Diaz. He's 24 years old, property of the Seattle Mariners and last season, he struck out 124 batters in 73.1 innings. He posted a 1.96 ERA on the season and oh yeah, he racked up 57 saves. That's right, folks, 57 saves. That's pretty amazing, if you ask me.
Trading for relievers is risky business, as you all know. The Red Sox got fleeced on Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg, so there is some risk here. However, the team needs a closer and this is a guy who looks like he could be very good at the job. Not really sure how it would work out in Boston but hey, on paper it looks alright.
Surely, the Red Sox have some guys in their farm system who are expendable--because every team does. So yeah, definitely interested to see if they pursue this guy and if so, how it would end up working out.