At least three teams are being seriously mentioned
as potential landing spots for Boston's free-agent closer,
Craig Kimbrel. Multiple reports suggest that the Philadelphia Phillies may be the lead suitor—as the aggressive NL East team is also rumored to be pursuing
both Manny Machado and
Bryce Harper. The other teams mentioned in connection with Kimbrel are the Atlanta Braves (where he started hi career) and the St. Louis Cardinals. The 10-day window that Kimbrel has to accept or reject Boston's qualifying offer of $17.9 million is rapidly closing. Most observers expect the 30-year-old closer to reject Boston's offer—although, even after that, he still
could agree on a different, more lucrative, deal with the Red Sox. During his three seasons in Boston, Kimbrel has gone 12-7 with a 2.44 ERA—while converting 108 saves. For his entire MLB career he has 333 saves—the most among all
active relievers.
Stay tuned!
