Red Sox DFA Explained After Johan Oviedo Blockbuster

Immediately, this led to some questions. Why DFA Criswell after just recently handing him a new deal? Well, MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo shared an explanation for the move that could make it look very smart.

"Sources confirm Red Sox are designating Cooper Criswell for assignment as Alex Speier reported," Cotillo wrote on X. " Boston will have one open 40-man roster spot. That is important with the Rule 5 coming Wednesday. Criswell signed a new contract last month before the non-tender deadline. From then:

"The Red Sox didn’t want to lose Criswell, a source said, and his new agreement makes it more likely he remains with the organization even if further roster moves force him off the 40-man roster later this winter. The salary is guaranteed and represents a bigger value than he would have likely gotten if he had signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox (or another club) after being non-tendered. The Red Sox can remove Criswell from the 40-man roster for further moves, if they so choose, and if they do so, he’s now more likely to clear waivers and accept an outright assignment (instead of electing free agency) because his salary is locked in."

So, to sum up, with Criswell's new deal, there's a chance that he's expensive enough that it would sway other teams away from claiming him off waivers and then he could end up sticking around because his contract is already in place.

If a team jumps in and nabs him, that's one thing. At that point, it would be fair. But it sounds like his deal with Boston may have been another example of a solid, preemptive move by the Boston front office.