It was surely not this simple. But as soon as Chris Sale stalked from the bullpen to the Dodger Stadium mound for the bottom of…
It was surely not this simple. But as soon as Chris Sale stalked from the bullpen to the Dodger Stadium mound for the bottom of the ninth inning in the final game of the World Series in October, Craig Kimbrel was as good as gone from the Boston Red Sox.
The honor of closing out the championship would normally go to a team’s All-Star closer, especially one with more career saves than Hall of Famers Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter. Kimbrel, 31, joined the scrum on the field in Los Angeles, but by then he had entered a long, strange winter in which the whole major leagues, not just the Red Sox, passed him by.
Kimbrel has a home now, after missing out on more than a third of the season, agreeing with the Chicago Cubs on a three-year, $43 million contract Wednesday, the final day of the amateur draft. With teams no longer required to sacrifice draft picks or signing-bonus money, the stagnant market finally flickered to life for Kimbrel. Next up: the other prominent free agent, Dallas Keuchel, the former Houston Astros ace who has drawn interest from the New York Yankees, among others.
The Cubs found an unexpected avenue for financial flexibility in the absence of Ben Zobrist, the veteran infielder-outfielder who has been away from the team for about a month as he deals with a divorce. Zobrist, who is in the final season of a four-year, $56 million contract, is on the restricted list and not being paid.
Zobrist won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award in 2016, when the Cubs won their first championship since 1908. Mike Montgomery, a middle reliever and spot starter, closed out Game 7 in Cleveland after Aroldis Chapman blew the save.
