Veteran reliever Tommy Kahnle presents Red Sox with difficult bullpen choice originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Boston Red Sox’s AAA affiliate, the Worcester Red Sox, have been the lifeline they have needed all season. They’ve provided a lot of talent on the MLB roster, including Mickey Gasper, Payton Tolle, Nick Sogard, and a few other players.
Now, another player is knocking on the door, and is serving the Sox an ultimatum if they don’t answer: MLB veteran Tommy Kahnle.
Kahnle is forcing Boston’s hand
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Kahnle has been on Worcester for a while now, and has been waiting for his chance to get called back up to the big leagues. Now, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, Kahnle is giving Boston a choice: either promote him, or he walks.
“According to a source with knowledge of Kahnle’s thinking, the righty “100 percent” plans to hit free agency if he is not added to Boston’s roster. The Red Sox can prevent such a move by selecting Kahnle’s contract and adding him to their bullpen ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against Baltimore (or earlier),” Cotillo wrote.
Kahnle has been great in AAA
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To be fair to Kahnle, he has been great in AAA. So far, he’s posted a 1.40 ERA, 21 Ks, a WHIP of 1.293 and five saves in 18 games with Worcester. With that in mind, calling him up might be a good idea.
The only thing holding him back is the fact that his most recent major league stats leave a bad taste in the mouth. Last season with the Detroit Tigers, he had a 4.43 ERA in 66 games. However, just the season before with the New York Yankees, he had a 2.11 ERA in 50 games.
The Sox have options to bring him up
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It’s not like the Sox don’t have any space either. Right now, they have multiple relievers who are struggling, with the biggest names being Greg Weissert and Danny Coulombe.
Both have a case for getting replaced. Weissert just can’t get through an inning without letting someone score, and neither can Coulombe. However, Coulombe has two things going for him, in the fact that he’s a lefty while the other two are righties, and he has no options, so he would have to be cut.
This leaves the Sox with the obvious choice: call Kahnle up, and send Weissert down. Hopefully, they do it soon to get their bullpen back in order.
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