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And Bleier makes 3: Red Sox trade for FGCU product giving Boston another Eagles pitcher

ed reed, fort myers news-press
·3 min read
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FGCU’s Richard Bleier delivers a pitch against Notre Dame on March 16, 2007. The Eagles won the game 5-3, and it also was the first ever win against a Division I opponent for FGCU.
FGCU’s Richard Bleier delivers a pitch against Notre Dame on March 16, 2007. The Eagles won the game 5-3, and it also was the first ever win against a Division I opponent for FGCU.

The Red Sox acquired former left-handed pitcher Richard Bleier, an FGCU product, in a trade with the Miami Marlins Monday that included Boston sending right-handed reliever Matt Barnes to the Marlins, along with $1 million, according to Sportsgrid’s Craig Mish,

With the addition of Bleier, Boston can now boast of having three former Eagles pitchers on its roster along with Chris Sale (left FGCUn in 2010; 114-75 record, 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP over 12 seasons) and Kutter Crawford (left FGCU in 2017; 3-6, 5.47 ERA in his rookie season in 2022).

Here are some things to know about the latest FGCU product to end up in Boston.

More:Returning home: Former FGCU standout Richard Bleier traded from Baltimore Orioles to Miami Marlins

Was a stud in college

As an FGCU student-athlete, Bleier was a First Team All-ASUN selection and became FGCU's first-ever ASUN Pitcher of the Year as a junior in 2008, after going 7-1 with a 2.09 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 90.1 innings in the Eagles inaugural season in Division I. He allowed a team-low 17 walks and held opponents to a team-best .232 batting average against. Following the season, he was named a Third Team All-American by PING before being drafted in the sixth round by the Texas Rangers in 2008.

Joining his fourth MLB team

Bleier broke into the majors in 2016 with the New York Yankees and pitched with Baltimore from 2017-20 before being traded by the Orioles to Miami during the 2020 season. Over the course of his seven MLB seasons, the 35-year-old has pitched in 308 games with a 14-6 record including 5 saves and has a 3.06 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. He appeared in a career-best 68 games with a 3-2 record and 2.95 ERA and .98 WHIP.

Biggest contract of career

The Marlins signed Bleier to a two-year, $6 million extension in March 2022, avoiding arbitration. Bleier earned $2.25 million in 2022 and is owed $3.5 million in 2023. The deal includes a $3.75 million club option for 2024.

He's a multiple hall-of-famer

Bleier was selected to join the ASUN Hall of Fame's seventh induction class in 2021 and was inducted earlier this month into the FGCU Athletic Hall of Fame.

More:FGCU's Coleman, Jenks among six new members of university's Athletics Hall of Fame

More:Former FGCU star, Miami Marlins reliever Richard Bleier inducted into ASUN Hall of Fame

Don't balk this way

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Richard Bleier reacts after being called for a balk.
Miami Marlins relief pitcher Richard Bleier reacts after being called for a balk.

Bleier had an unforgettably forgettable outing against the New York Mets on Sept. 28, 2022, when he was called for three balks not only in the same inning but the same at-bat, allowing Jeff McNeil to score from first base. Bleier and manager Don Mattingly were both ejected after arguing the calls. Bleier had never been called for a balk in his career previously.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Boston Red Sox acquire pitcher Ricard Bleier in trade with Miami Marlins