Bloom Salvages Matt Barnes DFA With Richard Bleier Swap

Bloom Salvages Matt Barnes DFA With Richard Bleier Swap

Did Chaim Bloom magically grow a brain? Maybe the boos made him smarter? After Matt Barnes got hit with the DFA, it was really looking like the Red Sox were going to flush more money down the toilet for another player that wasn’t going to take the field at Fenway park. In a no leverage situation, the Red Sox somehow landed Richard Bleier in the end.

The Red Sox acquired LHP Richard Bleier from the Marlins in exchange for RHP Matt Barnes. pic.twitter.com/8NPumJfN5O

— NESN (@NESN) January 30, 2023

Seriously… think about it. Barnes had been DFA’d. They had no leverage. It’s ten days to cut or trade. We’re also talking about a pretty hefty contract for a guy coming off a horrific year. To somehow swing a trade for Richard Bleier who has sported a 3.16 ERA for Miami over the last three years is a huge W for Bloom.

Oh, wait… there’s more!

The Red Sox save in a big way towards the luxury tax. That likely means another signing could be on the way. There have been some conflicting reports on the money. If the figure is closer to $5 million instead of $1 million, then this deal is far worse.

Correction from earlier, source says Red Sox are sending approximately $5 million to Miami in the trade. https://t.co/srbuRb11Px

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) January 30, 2023

Forgot about the new CBT trade rule (s/o @jaketodonnell)

Bleier will count $3.75m against the CBT ($3.5m in '23 + $0.25m buyout)

Barnes was going to count for $9.375m against the CBT.

If the Red Sox send $1m to Miami, they're cutting $4.625m from the CBT. Nice bit of business.

— Chris Hatfield (@SPChrisHatfield) January 30, 2023

The Red Sox also needed big help in the left-handed reliever department. Joely Rodriguez is the only lefty the club has after trading away Josh Taylor. It was a big concern for this Sox pen that wasn’t very good a year ago. Bleier certainly helps in this department.

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Yes, it sucks that Franklin German got DFA’d as part of this deal. That means the Adam Ottavino trade was for nothing. If the Sox get nothing for German then this deal may be another L if Bleier flops. Bloom will have then killed two birds with one stone in a bad way. However, they may have some intel that they can either trade German or pass him through the minors. Hopefully, that is the case.

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