The Arizona Diamondbacks have decided to retool their roster ahead of next season and this cause the organization to part ways with a reliever that was set to receive a raise through arbitration.
Despite compiling 32 saves and finishing 45 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, Brad Boxberger was not offered a contract ahead of the non-tender deadline. Throughout his career, he has compiled 76 saves and he has finished 131 games. As Boxberger is only 30-years-old with plenty of late game experience, he will be an intriguing free agent to watch this offseason.
Boxberger has already spent time with three organizations during his seven-year career. In two seasons with the San Diego Padres, he finished 10 games with 1 save, a 2.72 ERA and a 1.450 WHIP. In 4 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, he finished 76 games with 43 saves, a 3.33 ERA, and a 1.191 WHIP. During his lone season with the Diamondbacks, Boxberger compiled a 4.39 ERA and a 1.425 WHIP.
Although he held a solid 2.52 ERA, 3.49 FIP, and a 1.102 WHIP through his first three seasons, Boxberger garnered more attention when he earned a spot American League All-Star team in his fourth season. During this season, he finished an incredible 53 games for the Rays and saved 41 games.
As his ERA and WHIP ballooned a bit last season, Arizona chose to part ways with Boxberger instead of paying him the roughly $5.00 million he would have likely received in salary arbitration. Nonetheless, as he has a lot of previous late game success with numerous teams, the Cubs may want to entertain the idea of bringing him into the fold next season.