Red Sox Designate Flamethrowing Rookie Hurler After Short Stint In Boston
The Boston Red Sox's turnover this offseason has been dramatic.
Surprisingly, the club has consistently opted to add veterans past their prime while shedding younger talent from the 40-man roster.
That trend continued Monday, as the Red Sox designated Franklin German for assignment to make room for Richard Bleier -- a 35-year-old left-handed reliever acquired from the Miami Marlins in exchange for All-Star right-hander Matt Barnes per the club's transaction log.
Barnes' roster spot was already taken by outfielder Adam Duvall, so Boston once again had to cut ties with a young gun.
German allowed eight earned runs in his four-inning stint with Boston last season, but his larger sample size was encouraging.
The 25-year-old recorded seven saves in eight opportunities with a 2.58 ERA, 46-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a ridiculous .154 batting average against and 0.94 WHIP in 38 1/3 innings with Triple-A Worcester last season.
The right-hander showed true high-leverage reliever potential with a high-90s fastball, plus splitter and slider.
Notably, the Red Sox also cut ties with right-handers Connor Seabold and Darwinzon Hernandez, as well as former top prospect infielder Jeter Downs.
There are two interesting revelations from these offseason moves. The foursome of young promising talent was exchanged for the aforementioned Bleier (35), right-hander Corey Kluber (entering age-37 season), utility man/designated hitter Justin Turner (38) and outfielder Masataka Yoshida (29), respectively. Of the four, only one player is not past his prime.
The moves also signify big plans for Ryan Brasier -- another veteran whose best days are behind him -- Kaleb Ort, Zack Kelly and Wyatt Mills.
Nobody can make sense of the Red Sox's love for Brasier. The love for Ort is tough to swallow as well. Kelly and Mills hold some level of intrigue and deserve a shot -- maybe not over Barnes but that's besides the point now.
German is a promising arm, but Boston elected to place the flamethrower onto the waiver wire. The one saving grace for Red Sox fans who support German is the potential to return.
Unlike more highly-toughted prospects such as Seabold and Downs, there is a real chance German slips through the waiver wire and returns to Boston -- off of the 40-man roster.
Franchy Cordero did so a year ago, as did Eduard Bazardo -- many thought those two would have been claimed. In both cases, they were able to return to the 40-man last season and contribute. German could have a similar story -- ideally with more production than his predecessors.
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