Red Sox Add To Bullpen With Ziegler

THE DEAL

The Red Sox shored up their bullpen late Friday night, acquiring veteran closer Brad Ziegler from the Diamondbacks in exchange for second baseman Luis Alejandro Basabe and righthanded starter Jose Almonte, both of whom were at low Class A Greenville. Both were members of Boston’s 2012 international signing class, which also included since-traded Wendell Rijo and Double-A shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin.

The Red Sox bullpen entered the weekend 15th in the majors with a 3.95 ERA, so general manager Dave Dombrowski gave up a pair of prospects from the Red Sox’s 2012 international signing class to bolster that area as Boston gears up for a playoff push.

DIAMONDBACKS ACQUIRE
Luis Alejandro Basabe, 2b
Age: 19

Basabe, who is not to be confused with his twin brother and Red Sox preseason No. 9 prospect Luis Alexander, signed with Boston for a $450,000 bonus out of Valenzuela when he was 16, the same amount given to his brother. While his brother was previously identified as a top prospect, Luis Alejandro flew under the radar before breaking out this year. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound second baseman has shown a discerning batting eye at every level and is getting on base more than ever, ranking second in the South Atlantic League in on-base percentage and sixth in batting average at the time of the trade. His 24 extra base hits and 14 steals for Greenville portend to a growing power-speed combo threat that wasn’t previously there, although he’s had some issues in the field with 19 errors in 59 games.

Club (League)	Class	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	OBP	SLG
Greenville (SAL)	LoA	.310	64	229	39	71	16	4	4	25	37	58	14	.412	.467

Jose Almonte, rhp
Age: 20

The Red Sox signed Almonte for a $610,000 signing bonus out the Dominican Republic in 2012, and the 6-foot-2, 185-pound righthander gave them a positive return on that investment. Almonte has held his own despite being roughly two years younger than league average at every level, posting a career 3.24 ERA and 1.209 WHIP. He was not ranked as one of Boston’s top 30 prospects before this season after some control problems at short-season Lowell, when he posted a 5.2 walks-per-nine innings rate, hit 11 batters and threw nine wild pitches. He cleaned that up this season with 2.2 walks per nine innings at Greenville while keeping in line with his career strikeout rate. Almonte is a three-pitch guy—low-90s fastball, curve and changeup—with no pitch that truly plays as above-average. He does have some pitchability that helps his stuff play up, and he’s well-regarded for his competitive makeup.

Club (League)	Class	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Greenville (SAL)	LoA	2	2	3.91	10	10	53	50	23	23	4	13	45

RED SOX ACQUIRE
Brad Ziegler, rhp
Age: 36

Ziegler is getting up there in age but remains effective, converting 18 of 20 save chances with the Diamondbacks and actually increasing his strikeout rate, from 4.8 per nine innings last year to 6.3 per nine this season. The sinkerballer’s walks and hits allowed have both jumped, a concerning trend, but his velocity on his three pitches—sinker, slider, changeup—remains roughly the same as in the past three years, so there is no decrease in quality of his stuff. He won’t supplant Craig Kimbrel as Boston’s closer by any means, but he is a good bet to pitch some high-leverage innings for the Red Sox in crunch time.