After acquiring a bullpen centerpiece in Craig Kimbrel on Friday night, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski can now focus his attention on reeling in an ace. And that pitcher is all but certain to be a free agent.

You didn’t have to tell Dave Dombrowski how important it was to have a reliable closer. He always knew.

Last week my phone rang, and on the other end of the line was a young man named Spenser Clark. He introduced himself, and quickly shared that he is a senior at Howard University who has been employed by the Nationals as a batboy for the last two years. He also told me he is gay.

A year ago, Padres general manager A.J. Preller made big offseason waves by going all in for 2015 with a series of moves to bring in big league talent. He’s at it again, this time in reverse.

The Tampa Bay Rays will play in an exhibition game in Cuba this spring if Major League Baseball and the Cuban government can negotiate an agreement. The Rays were selected by Commissioner Rob Manfred on Friday via lottery.

Starting pitcher Brett Anderson accepted a one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer to remain with the Dodgers in 2016, but Zack Greinke and Howie Kendrick rejected theirs on Friday.

While they will continue to monitor the free-agent market and evaluate their trade options, the Pirates have a few decisions to make regarding their own roster over the next week.

The Tigers didn’t have a qualifying offer issued to any free agents last week, so they weren’t on pins and needles as players decided whether to accept or decline offers on Friday afternoon. That doesn’t mean they weren’t watching closely.

Alex Blandino, the No. 7 prospect in Cincinnati’s organization, rapped three hits and notched three RBIs in Peoria’s 6-3 victory over Glendale on Friday. Blandino had a two-run triple and an RBI single in the victory, and he raised his average in the Fall League to .204.

The Blue Jays secured a significant piece of their offseason puzzle Friday when they re-signed righty starter Marco Estrada to a two-year contract worth $26 million.

Kyle Freeland allowed just one run and five baserunners in 5 2/3 innings, and he has gone 3-0 with a 0.92 ERA since his rough introduction to the Fall League.

The Mets’ inevitable breakup with Daniel Murphy is official, his polarizing tenure in Flushing at an end. Murphy on Friday rejected the Mets’ one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer, preferring to canvas the free-agent market for a multiyear deal.

The Royals headed into Friday knowing that there was a great chance that left fielder Alex Gordon would decline the team’s one-year qualifying contract offer. Gordon indeed took that step, opting to test his value on the free-agent market.

All-Star catcher Matt Wieters has accepted the Orioles’ $15.8 million qualifying offer, forgoing free agency to remain in Baltimore for 2016.

In this year’s free-agent market, there are five guys whose values are especially difficult to ascertain. They are this market’s mystery men, and it will be fascinating to see not just where they land but for how much.

There were 20 players headed toward free agency who were given a qualifying offer to stay with their old club, a record number. As Friday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline approached, a player accepted the offer for the first time in history, and another seemed close to signing a two-year deal with his team.

The Brewers promoted from within Friday to fill their farm director vacancy, naming longtime club employee Tom Flanagan to the post.