The Boston Red Sox announced the acquisition of relief pitcher Brad Ziegler from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday in exchange for minor leaguers Jose Almonte and Luis Alejandro Basabe.
The move comes on the heels of news that Red Sox reliever Craig Kimbrel was unavailable to pitch Friday evening because of left knee soreness, as USA Today's Bob Nightengale noted:
Ziegler's role will likely be determined by the severity of Kimbrel's injury, but he's a strong contingency plan for the closer role who can bolster the team's bullpen as a setup man whenever Kimbrel returns to the mound.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports also reported Boston's pursuit of Ziegler was not bumped up due to Junichi Tazawa's sore right shoulder, which manager John Farrell told reporters of Friday night (h/t Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe).
"From a baseball standpoint you have a team that’s just a couple of games out of first and there’s a lot of opportunity there," Ziegler said Saturday, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
Rosenthal also reported the Diamondbacks informed Ziegler they would be interested in re-signing him after the season when he hits free agency.
In 38.1 innings so far this season, Ziegler has notched 18 saves while posting a 2.82 ERA, 1.461 WHIP, 27 strikeouts and 15 walks.
Those numbers may not be wildly impressive, but Ziegler is known for being one of MLB's tougher matchups against right-handed hitting. Now in his ninth professional season, he has held right-handed batters to an average of .224. Conversely, lefties have recorded a .273 average working against the 36-year-old.
With a solid three-pitch arsenal that includes a fastball, slider and changeup, Ziegler should be able to help patch up some of Boston's bullpen woes.
Entering Saturday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Red Sox relievers rank eighth among all American League teams with a shaky 3.92 ERA.
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