fb-pixelCraig Kimbrel declines $17.9m qualifying offer — but could still re-sign with Sox - The Boston Globe Skip to main content

Craig Kimbrel declines $17.9m qualifying offer — but could still re-sign with Sox

Craig Kimbrel has saved 40 or more games five times in his career.file/john tlumacki/globe staff

Craig Kimbrel on Monday officially declined a one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer from the Red Sox.

The closer remains eligible to return to the Sox. But if he does not, the team would receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round of the amateur draft in June.

Lefthander Patrick Corbin (Diamondbacks), catcher Yasmani Grandal (Dodgers), outfielder Bryce Harper (Nationals), lefthander Dallas Keuchel (Astros), and outfielder A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks) also rejected their offers.

Lefthander Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Dodgers accepted his.

The value of the qualifying offer is based on the mean salary of the game’s 125 highest-paid players from the previous season. A player can receive an offer once in his career.

Advertisement



For the 30-year-old Kimbrel, free agency should be a bonanza.

The seven-time All-Star has a 1.91 earned run average over nine seasons and 14.7 strikeouts per nine innings, the most for any pitcher in history with at least 500 career innings.

Kimbrel has a 2.44 ERA in 187 games over three seasons with the Red Sox and has 108 saves, third in team history.

Kimbrel has saved 40 or more games five times in his career. Only Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman (9), Mariano Rivera (9), and Francisco Rodriguez (6) have more.

There were two red flags last season. Kimbrel averaged 4.5 walks per nine innings, the second-highest rate of his career. He also allowed seven earned runs on nine hits and eight walks over 10⅔ innings in nine playoff games.

Kimbrel did not blow any saves in the postseason but allowed at least one run in five of his appearances.

If the Red Sox lose Kimbrel, righthanders Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier are candidates to close. There are several free agent possibilities, Zach Britton and Andrew Miller among them.

If the Red Sox were to sign Corbin, Grandal, Harper, Keuchel, or Pollock — which is unlikely — they would lose their second-highest and fifth-highest draft picks along with $1 million in international bonus pool money.

Advertisement



.   .   .

Steven Wright had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in New York on Monday. That procedure, which was to remove scar tissue, came 18 months after what was termed successful cartilage restoration surgery.

The same surgeon, Dr. Riley Williams, handled this latest surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

The Red Sox offered no timetable beyond that Wright was preparing to return “in the 2019 season.”

The knuckleballer started last season on the disabled list recovering from surgery, then returned to the DL in June for more than two months. Wright earned a spot on the postseason roster but was removed after his knee locked up before Game 1 of the Division Series.

Wright pitched in 20 games and had a 2.68 ERA.

Dustin Pedroia had cartilage restoration surgery on Oct. 25, 2017, and had a second procedure nine months later. Like Wright, his status for next season also remains uncertain.


Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.