The Philadelphia Phillies made a big bullpen acquisition during the offseason, signing Craig Kimbrel to a one-year deal worth $10 million. Despite Kimbrel being MLB's current active saves leader, it doesn't appear that he's destined to serve as the Phillies closer in 2023. Instead, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Philadelphia intends to continue utilizing a committee approach in the late innings, so while Kimbrel will certainly be closing out some games, he won't be the team's designated closer.
The Phillies agreed to a $10 million deal with the game’s active saves leader, but the organization is sticking with its ninth-inning strategy.
Sources tell @MattGelb Philadelphia plans for Craig Kimbrel to be one of many late-inning options this year.https://t.co/bu3YvARhBP
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) January 4, 2023
While Kimbrel has been the closer at every stop of his MLB career, and rightfully so, the Phillies won't be handing him the keys to the ninth inning. The closer-by-committee approach that helped the team reach the World Series last season figures to be in play once again, so Kimbrel and Seranthony Dominguez will likely handle the bulk of the late-inning work.
Across his 13-year career in MLB, Kimbrel has racked up 394 saves. He's seventh all-time and first among active pitchers in the category, though he's just three saves ahead of Kenley Jansen, who signed with the Red Sox this offseason. Mariano Rivera has the most saves of all time with 652.
Last season with the Dodgers, Kimbrel registered 22 saves in 63 relief appearances. He had a 3.75 ERA on the year while striking out 72 batters in 60 innings of work. He owns a 2.31 ERA for his career with 703 appearances and 1,098 strikeouts.
No Phillies pitcher recorded more than 12 saves last season. The dozen recorded by Corey Knebel led the team, while Dominguez was second with nine saves, and David Robertson was third with six.
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