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The Boston Red Sox hung Danny Coulombe out to dry on Saturday, and it became apparent why shortly after the game.
After downing the New York Mets for the second time in what would eventually become a three-game sweep, the Red Sox designated Coulombe for assignment.
Signed for an apparent bargain at $1 million plus incentives, the 12th-year veteran never became the reliable lefty middle relief option Boston was hoping he'd be.
Coulombe was let go after his longest outing of the season by far -- 37 pitches, which raised eyebrows in the moment that Boston might be having him empty the tank for a reason.
And beyond his subpar performance for most of the year, there was a financial explanation for the move.
Coulombe cut one outing short of $75K bonus As his Spotrac page showed, Coulombe had $75,000 bonuses available for his 30th, 35th, 40th, and 45th appearances of the season.
He made his 29th appearance on Saturday, so the Red Sox effectively made the move at the most opportune time to save a few bucks.
The 36-year-old Coulombe did earn $250,000 bonuses for being on the active roster for 30, 60, and 90 days this season, so he wound up netting $1.75 million from the Red Sox for half a season.
He had a 4.50 ERA and a putrid 15-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 22 innings.
Moreover, with Eduardo Rivera coming up and pitching a fantastic 3 2/3 innings earlier in the day, it was just clear the Red Sox had better options.
Coulombe's DFA was the corresponding move for Brayan Bello's return to the big leagues, and Boston also should have Ranger Suarez coming back shortly after the All-Star break.
It stung because hes an amazing human being, when you just look at things beyond baseball, manager Chad Tracy said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
The person he is and how positive he is and the way he was with everybody, not just the bullpen guys but with other players, hes an amazing human being." As the Red Sox re-enter the playoff race, it's good from a fan perspective to see that they're not hesitating to make tough roster moves.
In the clubhouse, though, losing Coulombe had to be somewhat sobering.
Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living.
A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey.
He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic.
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