Craig Kimbrel’s speedy return has Dave Dombrowski satisfied with bullpen

7:09 PM ET

BOSTON — With one week until the trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox’s idea of relief was seeing closer Craig Kimbrel throw 25 pitches off a mound only two weeks after undergoing minor surgery on his left knee. It was such an encouraging sight, in fact, that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski all but called off the search for bullpen help.

“I think our bullpen will be fine,” Dombrowski said Monday before the Red Sox opened a three-game series against his former team, the Detroit Tigers, at Fenway Park. “I know people keep saying we’ve got to add somebody, but they forget we’re getting Kimbrel back and that we just got [Junichi] Tazawa back. We’ve been able to add to our bullpen.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Red Sox still won’t keep adding, regardless of what Dombrowski says.

Craig Kimbrel is already throwing off a mound after undergoing a minor knee surgery two weeks ago. Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

When the season began, the Sox were relying on Kimbrel, Koji Uehara, Tazawa and Carson Smith as their primary late-inning relievers. But while Tazawa (sore shoulder) came off the disabled list last week, Kimbrel might rejoin the team as early as next week, and recently acquired submarine right-hander Brad Ziegler essentially replaced Smith, who was lost in May to Tommy John …

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