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The Red Sox have acquired right-hander Brad Ziegler from the Diamondbacks for minor-league right-hander Jose Almonte and minor-league infielder Luis Alejandro Basabe, according to a team announcement.
The deal is the third in as many days for the Red Sox, who acquired Aaron Hill from the Brewers on Thursday before obtaining Michael Martinez in a minor deal with the Indians on Friday.
Ziegler, 36, will provide much needed bullpen help for a Red Sox team that was unable to use righties Junichi Tazawa and Craig Kimbrel due to injury concerns Friday night. Though it is unclear whether either Tazawa or Kimbrel will require a stint on the disabled list, it appears Dombrowski believed an immediate move was necessary.
Ziegler has been very good as Arizona’s closer so far this season, posting a 2.82 ERA while saving 18 games in 36 appearances. The D-Backs expressed interest in signing him to an extension before the trade, but an industry source says that only “light discussions” occurred before the deal.
Ziegler is a free agent at the end of the season, and is owed approximately $2.75 million. He will join Tazawa, Kimbrel and Koji Uehara in the back end of a Boston bullpen that already lost Carson Smith to a season-ending injury and may receive more additions before the August 1 trade deadline.
Basabe, 19, is one of two identical twins (with the same first names) the Red Sox signed out of Venezuela in 2012. His brother, Luis Alexander Basabe, is considered a high-ceiling top outfield prospect for Boston.
Luis Alejandro Basabe is an infielder who has hit .311/.414/.471 in 63 games as a shortstop and second baseman for Single-A Greenville so far this season. He was not ranked among the top 30 prospects in Boston’s system by MLB.com, and projects as a utility type at higher levels.
Almonte, 20, is a 6-foot-2, 185 lb. right-hander from the Dominican Republic who has posted a 3.91 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.46 K/BB in 10 starts for Single-A Greenville this year. He was also not ranked by MLB.com among the club’s 30 best prospects.