Report: Many teams stunned by Red Sox trade for Brad Ziegler

The Boston Red Sox recently swung a trade for Arizona closer Brad Ziegler, and it reportedly caught a lot of teams off guard.

According to Peter Gammons, while many teams knew Ziegler was available and were pursuing him, the Red Sox gave up much less than other teams were willing to.

NL GM:"There are a half-dozen teams that were in on Brad Ziegler who couldn't understand why Boston got him for half what Arizona was…

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 16, 2016

@pgammo asking everyone else. It had to be Dave Dombrowski's relationship with Tony LaRussa, dating back to the White Sox in the eighties."

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 16, 2016

Boston got Ziegler for two modestly rated prospects, which is no small feat in what is sure to be a sellers’ market. A lot of teams need relief help, and if they really were prepared to part with more than Boston gave up, you can understand their frustration, particularly since Boston pulled it off while still having such a transparent need in the bullpen.