Bobby Jenks makes his way to the Boston Red Sox on a 2-year deal
The Boston Red Sox never did look weak when they brought in Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford from the winter meetings. However, one thing that Theo Epstein had pointed out before the end of the meetings was that power had to be
driven to the bullpen.
It looks like his need has been fulfilled as Bobby Jenks became the latest player to be acquired by the side. The 29-year-old, who was the Chicago White Sox’s closer, joins the Red Sox on a two year deal worth $12 million. The
addition will certainly support the team’s original closer, Jonathan Papelbon, who is set to head to free agency in 2011. When Jenks was asked on why he chose to relinquish his role as a closer in Chicago and move to Boston, he had a lot to say.
"I was just excited to get the opportunity to come here," Jenks said.
"Obviously it's a team that should be very appetizing. I've always wanted to play in Boston. A few years back ... me and (Josh Beckett) were hanging out, and I told him that this was a place I always wanted to be. Once the opportunity was available, I jumped
on it."
Epstein maintained that Papelbon would remain the team’s closer and went on to explain the situation.
"We kept Pap's agents up to speed the whole time as a courtesy, both earlier in the offseason and the last couple of weeks as we filled out our bullpen,"
said Theo Epstein. "Then I left Pap a voicemail after we signed Jenks to let him know that we still see him as our closer and we've got two power setup guys to get him the ball in the ninth inning."
Bobby Jenks was not up to the mark for the Chicago White Sox, last season. The 275-pound ball thrower had gone through some health complications that hindered his performance in the regular league. The 29-year-old ball thrower
featured in 55 games for the club and managed to save 27 games in the process. He played in 52.2 innings and conceded 28 runs in the process. He was fairly expensive for the team. The management had been behind him before the season, but things fell out of
play with the bad season he had with Chicago.
Jenks was able to sustain an Earning runs average of 4.44, but his concession had been dubbed as a leading problem in the season. He only had a good figure of 61 strikeouts that represented some of the quality Jenks displayed in
front of the supporters. The Red Sox will hope the player gets around his troubles and delivers a good season for the team.
Tags: