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The Red Sox found a trade partner for Matt Barnes on Monday, reaching a deal to send the veteran righty along with cash considerations to the Marlins for lefty reliever Richard Bleier, the team announced.
The deal comes six days after Barnes was surprisingly designated for assignment so the Red Sox could make room on their 40-man roster for free-agent acquisition Adam Duvall. To make room for Bleier on the 40-man, right-hander Franklin German was designated for assignment on Monday.
Now, manager Alex Cora has another southpaw option in Bleier, who relies on finesse to induce weak contact. According to Statcast, Bleier’s repertoire includes a sinker, cutter, slider, changeup and fastball. In an age where velocity is king, Bleier is a different breed. His fastball, which averaged 90.7 mph last season, was his least frequently used pitch.
In 55 appearances last season, Bleier went 2-2 with a 3.55 ERA. In particular, he thrives against lefties, having held them to a slash line of .256/.287/.389 with just one home run in 94 plate appearances.
The Red Sox hold a 2024 club option on Bleier that’s worth $3.75 million and includes a $250,000 buyout.
A sixth-round selection of the Rangers in 2008, Bleier had stints in the Blue Jays and Nationals organizations before making his MLB debut for the Yankees in 2016.
Bleier appeared in 23 games for the Yankees that season, then went on to pitch three-plus seasons with the Orioles and three with the Marlins.
In his career, Bleier has pitched in 308 games, all but two of them in relief, notching a 3.06 ERA while holding lefties to a .225 average and .573 OPS.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom acknowledged last week that designating Barnes for assignment — and the subsequent conversation with the righty — was difficult.
Boston added two key pitchers from the right side this offseason in closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Chris Martin. The club is also confident a number of younger righties can contribute in the middle and late innings.
“This is not an easy move but one that we felt was the right one — and really isn’t anything bad about Matt, who I’m sure is going to continue to have success in his career,” said Bloom. “It was just a question of where we felt we were, how we see the ‘pen coming together and what those other guys have a chance to do for us.”
Prior to getting designated for assignment, the 32-year-old Barnes became the longest-tenured member of the Red Sox when Xander Bogaerts signed with the Padres last month. Barnes has one year and $7.5 million left on his contract and an $8 million club option for next season. The Marlins, according to reports, will receive about $1 million in cash from the Red Sox.
The Red Sox selected Barnes out of UConn with their first-round selection (19th overall) in the 2011 Draft.
In 429 career appearances, Barnes has a 4.07 ERA with 556 strikeouts in 431 2/3 innings.
The highlight for Barnes with the Red Sox was the 2018 postseason, when he was magnificent, giving up one run in 10 appearances for a team that won it all.