One thing the Sox tried to do with Kimbrel is give him >3 out save opportunities. Come in in the 8th. I have not looked at the stats or found a discussion of whether that contributed to his walks. He was still very difficult to make contact with. My impression is his blown saves were on the few times he gave up contact.
I'm neither here nor there on this. I thought he should have taken the qualifying offer because I thought the idea of signing him for more than any other closer has gotten for multiple years was nuts. A 3 year deal in the $15MM/yr range might not be crazy for his talent, but I think you could probably spend that $15MM a year on other arms that might give you decent results. With Rosenthal and Doo, I think you have a solid 1/2 already. Rosenthal sure looks good so far. While both are injury risks, I think they kind of balance each other out. I also think Miller and Grace, and maybe Suero, are good for the 4-7 slots in the pen. I'm just not yet convinced Barraclough is a good righty set up option, Glover looks unreliable, and would like another arm or two, a lefty and a righty, to push Solis off the roster.
