Red Sox Reportedly Sign Coveted Ex-Rays Hurler To Bolster Bullpen

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has finally made the first free-agent signing of his career.

The former reliever already has four trades under his belt but had yet to sign a player to a big-league deal until late Tuesday night. 

"Right-hander Cooper Criswell and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a one-year, $1 million contract," ESPN's Jeff Passan reported. "Criswell, 27, spent the last two seasons in Tampa Bay and was designated for assignment but found a solid market and leveraged it into a fully guaranteed big league deal."

Fans have been anxiously awaiting Breslow's first signing, but will not have much to be excited about here.

Criswell posted a 5.73 ERA, 27-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .296 batting average against and 1.55 WHIP in 33 innings across 10 outings for the Tampa Bay Rays last season.

Those numbers are nothing to write home about but the sample size is fairly small and the fact that he was able to secure a big-league deal above the league minimum salary of $740,000 speaks highly as to how opposing clubs value his abilties. 

Criswell logged a 3.93 ERA with an 80-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .260 batting average agaisnt and 1.30 WHIP in 84 2/3 innings for Triple-A Durham last season.

From a game-level view, Criswell does not appear to be a diamond in the rough candidate. His underlying metrics are in line with his mid-level production and it's hard to find a reason as to why Breslow thinks he could turn it around in Boston. 

That said, Criswell was a low-risk signing that will fill out a 40-man roster spot for the time being and have a shot to prove himself in spring training -- if he's still in the organization. As noted earlier, the Red Sox were not the only team to believe in the lanky right-hander who boasts an average sinker velocity of 88.4 mph and relies heavily on movement. 

Fans will likely use this as an excuse to get upset or claim that Breslow and his predessor Chaim Bloom are one in the same but that's not fair in the slightest

This move is to simply add depth while Breslow and company await decisions by some of the top hurler on the market.