Dave Dombrowski Downplays The Likelihood Of A Craig Kimbrel Reunion With The Red Sox

Welp, it’s January 9 and the Red Sox still don’t have a closer. We’re also in month three of the offseason and Craig Kimbrel is still a free agent with seemingly no market developing around him.

I had thought perhaps the Phillies would get involved, since they promised their fans that they were going to spend a shitload of money this winter, yet I don’t see them landing Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. Maybe the best closer on the market made sense as a landing spot for some of the money that’s apparently burning a hole in their pocket. That was until they went out and signed David Robertson to a two-year deal. Cross Philly off the list of potential suitors for Kimbrel.

For a second there, I actually thought the White Sox might emerge as a mystery team that could swoop in and sign Kimbrel, while interest in the reliever was low. I hadn’t seen them linked to Kimbrel at all, but apparently they’re Daddy Big Bucks all of a sudden in their pursuit of Machado, so what was stopping them from adding the best closer on the market as a means to pitch Machado even more that their team is ready to win now. I knew they weren’t going to be cool with going into 2019 with Alex Colome as their closer — that dude blows — but it will be Kelvin Herrera, not Kimbrel, who will fill that role for Chicago this year.

That leaves us with who, the Braves? On the surface, Kimbrel returning to Atlanta makes sense for both sides. You’ve got a young team that’s clearly ready to win now after clinching their first division title since 2013 last year, and a closer who has both previously played in Atlanta and has postseason experience, albeit not the best results. That all sounds great, but we’ve already been told that Atlanta won’t be spending big on their bullpen this winter. Sooooo, now what?

The Yankees have Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, and Zach Britton, the Rays are too cheap, the Indians are too cheap, the Astros have Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly (although I wouldn’t rule them out), the A’s have Blake Treinen, Lou Trivino, and Joakim Soria, the Nationals have Sean Doolittle, the Mets have Edwin Diaz, the Brewers have Jeremy Jeffress, Josh Hader, and Corey Knebel, the Cubs have Brandon Morrow (I guess I wouldn’t rule them out, either?), the Cardinals have Jordan Hicks and Andrew Miller, the Dodgers have Kenley Jansen, and the Rockies have Wade Davis.

And then there’s the Red Sox. They still need a closer. So, that’s a maybe on the Astros and Cubs — two teams that already have fully capable closers — and then Boston is still just twiddling their thumbs while the free agent reliever market continues to dry up. You’d think, at this point, that a reunion between Kimbrel and the Red Sox would be a no-brainer, but Dave Dombrowski is holding his ground that Boston will not be spending big on a closer.

“Craig did a great job for us, he’s a Hall of Fame reliever,’’ Dombrowski says, “but we have not anticipated having a large expenditure for a closer.’’

This all ties into the story that the Red Sox were shopping Jackie Bradley Jr. as a means to reduce their payroll. Bradley is projected to make somewhere in the neighborhood of $8 million in 2019, so that’s not exactly a huge dent in Boston’s already massive payroll. But, it’s something. Kimbrel’s agent has been spouting nonsense about how his client is the greatest closer of all-time (false) and how he’s in search of a record deal that would be somewhere in the region of six years and $100 million.

He ain’t getting that. That much, we know. But we also know that Dombrowski isn’t the type of guy who’s going to blow smoke up our asses. Usually, if he says something, he means it. And if the Red Sox aren’t breaking the bank for Craig Kimbrel, then they’re not breaking the bank for Craig Kimbrel. Nor should they.

It’s not the end of the world if Kimbrel and the Red Sox go their separate ways; I’m just not crazy about filling the closer role internally. At least, not yet. I could see Durbin Feltman becoming that guy, but he’s presumably starting the 2019 season at Double-A. Despite going into his age-33 season this year, Adam Ottavino still figures to land the most lucrative deal for a reliever behind Kimbrel, so you’ve gotta put two and two together that if the Red Sox are a no on Kimbrel, they’re a no on Ottavino as well.

And while it might be discomforting to not have an experienced closer at the moment, you have to understand where Dombrowski is coming from. The Red Sox have a great deal of impact players coming up on free agency, and they’re not going to be able to pay them all. With names like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Rick Porcello, Chris Sale, and potentially JD Martinez, if he opts out, all approaching free agency within the next year (two years for Mookie), Dombrowski is not wrong for wanting to allocate the team’s dollars towards those names over Kimbrel.

All that being said, might there still be a way that Boston could re-sign the closer without having to hand out some outlandish contract? With Kimbrel’s market having tumbleweeds blowing all around, perhaps there might be a way. I just think with the lack of urgency on Boston’s part, some team with money to blow will eventually say fuck it and throw four years, $70 million at the right-hander and he’ll take that over some scenario where he has to put his tail between his legs and come crawling back to the Red Sox for a lesser offer.