According to a report by
NBCSportsBoston's
Evan Drellich, the market price for free-agent closer
Craig Kimbrel has dropped to a point where one baseball executive has termed it, "crazy low". The asked-for six-year, $100 million contract that he floated early in free-agency is a non-starter—but it's unclear exactly how low his new value has sunk. Clearly, this plays into Boston's hands—as
Dave Dombrowski has been patiently waiting for the reliever market to simmer down. The recent Phillies signing of
David Robertson has accelerated things a bit—and may be playing into the Kimbrel devaluation. It's looking more and more like a "market correction" is coming—with team owners reluctant to splurge on long-term deals. There are exceptions, of course—and both
Manny Machado and
Bryce Harper will likely still land 'stupid money' deals. But overpaying a 30-year-old reliever—no matter how good he is—may be a thing of the past.
