About a week after a slightly surprising decision by his team to designate him for assignment, one former Major League Baseball All-Star is being traded in exchange for a lefty reliever.
Boston Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes is reportedly being traded to the Miami Marlins in exchange for reliever Richard Bleier, marking another move by the Red Sox as they continue to have a busy leadup to February, when pitchers and catchers will report, marking the early beginning of Spring Training and the return of baseball.
Barnes had originally been designated for assignment on January 24th in order to make room for new acquisition Adam Duvall, the slugging outfielder. The former Red Sox closer has spent his whole career as a part of the organization, but he will now need to adjust to a new environment in Miami after up-and-down performances have been a hallmark of his outings ever since he earned an All-Star nod in 2021.
As for Bleier, he now heads to Boston, which will mark his fourth team over the course of his career, but interestingly his third AL East team, after previously spending time with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, where he made his MLB debut.
The crafty lefty reliever, who features a sinking fastball in the low nineties alongside a repertoire that includes a changeup, slider, and cutter, went 2-2 last season with a 3.55 ERA over 50 games, per Baseball Reference.
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