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| The 'Bear Claw' (Getty Images) |
While most of the "bullpen trade" talk has centered on Baltimore's
Zach Britton,
Boston may have more interest in Marlins closer Kyle Barraclough. Why? Well, to begin with, he's under team control until
after the 2021 season. Also, while he would likely be used to "set-up"
Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning, his closer experience could serve as a "firewall" against a potential Kimbrel departure this off-season in free agency. Barraclough (pronounced
"bear-claw") has been brilliant this season, for a crappy Marlins ballclub—with a 1.41 ERA, while giving up
a ridiculously low 16 hits in 41.1 innings pitched. Part of the reason for these elite numbers (as pointed out by
Ely Sussman of
fishstripes.com) is dumb luck. His 'batting average with balls in play' (BABIP) is just .146—versus .290 over his entire career. If the horseshoe falls out of his back pocket at Fenway, it won't be too pretty. Still, it's a tempting deal for
Dave Dombrowski—who might have to send a prospect package of 3B
Michael Chavis, RHP
Mike Shawaryn and RHP
Denyi Reyes to Miami to get
"The Bear Claw". Think of how cool that
JumboTron graphic and entry music would be, though! Stay tuned!
