Chicago Cubs Rumors: Five non-tendered players that could be signed
By Paul Ashley
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.