The Red Sox bullpen shuffle is officially underway. MLBTradeRumors confirmed Boston designated left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe for assignment, clearing a 40-man roster spot as the front office looks to reshape the pitching staff heading into the stretch run toward the trade deadline.
Red Sox To Designate Danny Coulombe For Assignment t.co/28hJRVLu61
The timing is the part that stings. Coulombe threw 2 scoreless innings in Boston's win over the Mets, and that outing happened to be his 29th appearance of the season, just 1 shy of the 30-game threshold that would have triggered a $75K performance bonus in his contract. He was sent packing the moment the game ended.
Coulombe signed with Boston back in March on what turned into an unusual one-year deal. A physical issue forced a last-minute renegotiation, and the sides landed on a $1 million base salary with up to $750K in incentives, still capping out around $3 million if everything hit. Instead, he got cut a game shy of the first checkpoint.
It's a rough way to close the book on a genuinely productive run. The 36-year-old lefty had quietly been one of the better specialist relievers in baseball, posting a 2.64 ERA across 188 appearances over the previous 5 seasons with more than a strikeout an inning, a track record built with stops in Minnesota, Baltimore, Oakland, Texas and the Dodgers before Boston. This year's 4.50 ERA over 29 outings apparently didn't fit whatever Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow is building toward as the deadline approaches.
Boston now has 5 days to trade Coulombe or put him on waivers. Given his service time, if nobody claims him he can simply refuse a minor league assignment and walk into free agency, likely looking for a bullpen willing to actually let him hit 30 appearances next time.