Much-traveled and once-feared reliever Craig Kimbrel and Philadelphia Phillies have agreed on a 1-year, $10 million contract, per MLB insiders Jeff Passan and Ken Rosenthal.
The 34-year-old right-hander was with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year and had and up-and-down season. He had 22 saves last season, a 6-7 won-lost record while pitching 60.0 innings. Kimbrel struck out 72 batters while recording a 3.75 earned-run average.
Kimbrel made the National League All-Star team four times in his first five big-league seasons while pitching with the Atlanta Braves. He had his best seasons with the Braves, when he recorded seasons with 46, 42, 50 and 47 saves from 2011 through 2014.
He had a 1.21 ERA and a 4-3 record while fanning 98 batters in 67.0 innings in 2013. He largely featured a blazing fastball during his prime years
After spending one season with the San Diego Padres, he took on the closer's role for the Boston Red Sox 2016 through their World Series championship season in 2018. He was an American League All-Star in each of his 3 seasons with the Red Sox.
Since then, Kimbrel has had some sharp moments, but he has also been victimized by notable slumps. He pitched with the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox before joining the Dodgers last season.
He had major problems during the 2019 season with the Cubs when he compiled an 0-4 record and had 17 saves in 23 appearances. He gave up 9 home runs in 20.2 innings of work while compiling a shocking 6.53 ERA.
While he has shown some improvement since then, Craig Kimbrel has not regained the consistency he had earlier in his career.
Follow Us
Subscribe