Red Sox, Marlins swap relief pitchers

The Red Sox are trading right-handed reliever Matt Barnes to the Marlins, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Left-handed reliever Richard Bleier is headed to Boston in return, according to Craig Mish of SportsGrid.

Miami will also receive cash considerations on top of this player-for-player swap, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Mish has that sum at about $1M, to offset a portion of the $7.55M salary that Barnes is owed in 2023 and the $2.5M buyout on his $8M club option for 2024. Bleier is due $3.5M this season and carries a $3.75M club option (or $250K buyout) for 2024.

Barnes was designated for assignment by the Red Sox last week following the completion of a one-year, $7M agreement with outfielder Adam Duvall. He served as Boston’s primary closer in 2021, earning 24 saves, but the 32-year-old promptly lost that job early last season and he was going to be low among the team’s high-leverage considerations leading into the 2023 campaign following the December additions of Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin.

Bleier can fill the Sox’s need for left-handed bullpen help, even as he enters his age-36 season. The veteran southpaw has registered a 3.09 ERA in 125 1/3 innings since the beginning of 2020 and he’s held left-handed batters to a .225/.260/.313 slash line since he first reached the major leagues with the Yankees in 2016.

Barnes might eventually get a fresh chance to carve out some save opportunities in Miami, though Dylan Floro is the current projected front-runner for that gig. Floro worked to a 3.02 ERA across 53 2/3 innings with the Marlins in 2022, and he has successfully converted 25 save attempts over the last two years. Barnes tallied only eight saves in 2022 and finished with a 4.31 ERA in 39 2/3 frames.