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The timing of this trade comes as a bit of a surprise. A total restructuring of the bullpen continues with the Padres trading closer Craig Kimbrel to the Boston Red Sox one day after sending set-up man Joaquin Benoit to the Seattle Mariners. The early reports in terms of the return for Kimbrel involve 4 players headed to San Diego.
Source: That's the entire deal: Asuaje, Allen, Guerra and Margot for Kimbrel. No one else involved.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) November 14, 2015
Logan Allen is an 18 year old LHP who spent his 1st professional season in the Red Sox Rookie league and Low A teams. He had a 1.11 ERA overall in 24.1 innings recording 26 strikeouts and allowing only 3 earned runs.
Manuel Margot, a center fielder, spent 2015 with their AA team. Margot batted .276 with 27 doubles and 39 stolen bases.
Carlos Asuaje spent 2015 with Margot in AA as a second baseman. Asuaje batted .251 with 8 home runs, 61 RBI, and 23 doubles.
Javier Guerra, a shortstop, spent 2015 with the Red Sox Single-A team. Guerra batted .279 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI.
Once deal is official Margot is almost assuredly Padres No. 1 prospect. Guerra will be No. 2. System was very thin.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) November 14, 2015
Kimbrel, who was set to earn 11 million dollars in 2016, had a great season as the Padres closer, but it was not on par with his other seasons that he spent with the Atlanta Braves. The trade bringing Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. at the start of the season was one that drew some criticism. Kimbrel recorded 39 saves for the Padres, his lowest save total in his career. His 2.58 ERA was his first ERA over 2.00 since 2011 when he posted a 2.10 ERA.
This seems like the Padres have once again turned a reliever for profit that will help rebuild the farm system even more. The money being freed up the last two days is a great thing and we can only wait patiently to see where it ends up.