Inside The Red Sox

Ex-Red Sox Star Joins Dave Dombrowski's Phillies To Bolster Impressive Bullpen

A former Red Sox star is joining the National League champions
Scott Neville|
Ex-Red Sox Star Joins Dave Dombrowski's Phillies To Bolster Impressive Bullpen
Ex-Red Sox Star Joins Dave Dombrowski's Phillies To Bolster Impressive Bullpen

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Boston Red SoxPhiladelphia Phillies

A contingent of former Boston Red Sox players are teaming up in the National League, spearheaded by a notable executive. 

The Red Sox have added a pair of notable aging veterans in Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen to the bullpen, but chose not to bring back a flamethrower on a Hall-of-Fame career path.

"Reliever Craig Kimbrel and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a one-year, $10 million contract," ESPN's Jeff Passan tweeted Friday.

Instead of a reunion in Boston, Kimbrel will join Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who traded for Kimbrel when he held the same title with the Red Sox.

Kimbrel went 6-7 with 22 saves in 27 opportunities while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. He posted a 3.75 ERA, 72-to-28 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .227 batting average against and 1.32 WHIP in 60 innings across 63 appearances.

He'll join outfielder Kyle Schwarber and left-handed reliever Matt Strahm as Red Sox defects -- though neither of those two played under Dombrowski as a member of the Red Sox. 

The 32-year-old hurler still has plenty of gas left in the tank and will see plenty of high-leverage opportunities with the Phillies. 

While Boston could have used Kimbrel's services, the team already invested quite a bit into the bullpen and has other needs to fill. 

Assuming the Red Sox stay under the luxury tax threshold, it would not have made much sense to add Kimbrel into the mix after Jansen and Martin were acquired. 

We'll now see how he pairs with Dombrowski and the defending National League champion Phillies.

More MLB: Red Sox Will Listen To Trade Offers For Core Player After Tumultuous Offseason

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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