Tommy

Kahnle

Kahnle returns to Boston’s relief mix after spending roughly one week on the open market. The 36-year-old veteran righty allowed eight runs over nine innings for the Red Sox after being called up back on June 4. He’ll remain stationed at Triple-A Worcester as emergency depth heading into the second half.

No surprise here. Kahnle will test the open market after declining an outright assignment from the Red Sox. The 36-year-old veteran reliever posted an underwhelming 8.00 ERA across nine innings during a couple weeks in Boston’s bullpen.

Kahnle posted an 8.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and a 5/6 K/BB ratio across nine innings of work in eight appearances with the Red Sox. It seems likely that he’ll refuse the outright assignment and elect free agency.

Kahnle was charged with four runs during his lone inning of work on Tuesday against the Nationals, leaving him with an inflated 8.00 ERA across nine innings since joining Boston’s relief mix back on June 4. It’ll be Alec Gamboa coming up to take his roster spot ahead of Wednesday afternoon’s contest, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

No real reason to rush out and grab Kahnle in saves-only leagues or even holds leagues for the time being, but he could eventually push himself up the pecking order in Boston’s bullpen after posting a 1.40 ERA in 19 1/3 innings pitched at Worcester.

Today was the deadline for the Red Sox to call up Kahne or risk him using his opt-out clause, which he had told the team he would do. Since the Red Sox have only three pitchers in their bullpen with minor league options (Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert, and left-hander Tyler Samaniego), there was some question about how they would fit Kahnle onto the roster. Plus, adding him to the 40-man roster would also necessitate releasing somebody or putting Trevor Story on the 60-day injured list. At the end of the day, it seems that the Red Sox decided to call up the 36-year-old, who has a 1.40 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 21/11 K/BB ratio over 19 1/3 innings at Triple-A.

The 36-year-old changeup aficionado has been brilliant during his time at Triple-A Worcester this season, posting a 1.40 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a 21/11 K/BB ratio over 19 1/3 innings. It’s now just about the Red Sox deciding if they want to make room for him on their 40-man roster.

The decision leaves Connelly Early and Johan Oviedo as the fifth and sixth options in Boston’s rotation mix. Tolle did almost everything possible to prove he belongs in the big leagues with a strong Grapefruit League showing that included a 2.53 ERA and 13/1 K/BB ratio across 10 2/3 innings. The 23-year-old top pitching prospect would’ve likely been ticketed for a long relief role at the start of the regular season so he’ll instead remain stretched out as a traditional starter on the doorstep of the majors until a more permanent opportunity arises. He’ll be worth rostering in all fantasy formats based on his strikeout upside once he gets a real chance.

Kahnle fortifies Boston’s middle relief depth after a strong showing for Israel in the World Baseball Classic. The 36-year-old veteran posted a respectable 4.43 ERA (4.52 xERA), 1.30 WHIP and 50/31 K/BB ratio across 63 innings for the Tigers last year. He’ll presumably head to Triple-A Worcester to open the year, but should make it to Fenway Park relatively quickly.

Kahnle’s velocity was fine today, with his fastball down about one mph from last year but his trusty changeup up 0.5 mph. The 36-year-old was somewhat disappointing with the Tigers last year, but he still has a 3.26 ERA in 146 innings over the last three seasons. He should be able to find work after the WBC.