Chris Sale on Craig Kimbrel: ‘Everyone in this clubhouse would have liked to have him back'

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Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel both had themselves a nice day on Wednesday.

Sale pitched a complete-game shutout vs. the Royals that included his second immaculate inning of the season. As for Kimbrel, he finally found a team. After sitting out the first couple months of the season, the former Red Sox closer agreed to a three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs.

Following his stellar outing, Sale said while he and the rest of the team would have welcomed Kimbrel back with open arms, he's happy to hear the news on his ex-teammate.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters in Kansas City after the game that he sent Kimbrel a text and congratulated his former closer on his new deal. “Good for him. Happy for him. Finally, he can go out there and do what he does,” Cora said. “It’s a great organization. They’re in a good spot. I’m very happy that he was able to finish the deal and go play baseball.”

The Red Sox never showed much interest in bringing Kimbrel back, but there's no doubting they could use someone of his caliber in the back end of the bullpen. Instead, they'll likely be shopping for relievers around the trade deadline.

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