Relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel has found a new team. He and the Baltimore Orioles have reportedly agreed on a one-year, $13 million contract.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that Kimbrel has passed his physical, which means the deal is likely to be officially announced soon.
Kimbrel has spent the vast majority of his career as a closer, and will reportedly continue that role in Baltimore. They need someone to fill Felix Bautista's spot at the end of games while he's out for the entire season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
The 2024 season will be Kimbrel's 15th in the majors, and the Orioles will be his eighth team. He came up with the Atlanta Braves in 2010, serving as their lights-out closer for five seasons and winning National League Rookie of the Year in 2011.
Over his career, Kimbrel has a 2.40 ERA with 417 career saves. He's had his share of ups and downs, particularly when he was pitching for the Chicago Cubs. In 2019 and 2020 he had a combined 6.00 ERA, but bounced back with a 0.49 ERA in 2021 before he was traded to the Chicago White Sox.
Kimbrel has been an All-Star nine times in his career, most recently with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023. He performed well in Philly throughout the season, serving as their closer when their hard-throwing reliever Jose Alvarado was on the injured list. He ended the regular season with a 3.26 ERA, 23 saves, and five blown saves. That doesn't include the blown save he had in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a win the Phillies had in the bag until Kimbrel came in and allowed two runs at the worst possible time.
Kimbrel isn't the shut-em-down closer he once was, but even with a few base runners he can still get the job done more often than not. As long as the Orioles don't mind a few blown saves and handful of nail-biting finishes, he's just what they need until Bautista is back and ready to go in 2025.