The Orioles and free agent right-hander Craig Kimbrel are close to a deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported last night that the two parties were engaged in discussions.
The Orioles have been looking to fortify the back of their bullpen this winter, with Félix Bautista set to miss the 2024 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery. In that search, they have been connected in rumors to just about every notable reliever, including Josh Hader, Robert Stephenson and Jordan Hicks, though those guys are set for multi-year deals. The details of this deal between the O’s and Kimbrel aren’t known but it’s possible it’s a one-year deal since he settled for a one-year pact last offseason and is now going into his age-36 campaign. In that case, Kimbrel could act as a bridge, covering the closing role in Baltimore for one season and then relinquishing it to Bautista for 2025.
Kimbrel has a lengthy track record of having been one of the most dominant relievers in the game, having racked up 417 saves since debuting with Atlanta back in 2010. Recent years have been a bit more rocky but he’s coming off a generally solid season.
Over 2019 and 2020 with the Cubs, Kimbrel had an earned run average of 6.00 in 36 innings, a noticeable slide since his previous nine seasons only once resulted in an ERA over 2.74. He got back on track in 2021 with an ERA of 2.26 between the Cubs and White Sox, though he was far better before being traded than after. His ERA was a ridiculous 0.49 before the deal but 5.09 after. He was traded to the Dodgers for the 2022 season and posted a respectable 3.75 ERA, but he was shaky enough that year to get removed from the closer’s role in September and then left off that club’s playoff roster.
Kimbrel signed with the Phillies for 2023, a one-year deal with a $10M guarantee. He tossed 69 innings for the Phils over 71 appearances this year, finishing with a 3.26 ERA, 33.8% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. He earned 23 saves and seven holds in the process. He didn’t fare so well in the postseason, allowing four earned runs in six innings, but that’s a tiny sample of work relative to the season overall.
That won’t quite live up to Bautista’s recent performance, but there are few pitchers in the world who could. His first two seasons in the big leagues resulted in a 1.85 ERA and a 40.4% strikeout rate. Only Edwin Díaz, who missed 2023 due to knee surgery, had a higher strikeout percentage in that time. But Kimbrel will nonetheless strengthen the bullpen relative to where it was a few days ago, joining other high-leverage relievers such as Yennier Cano and Danny Coulombe.
Assuming Kimbrel is in the closer’s role, he will have a chance to continue climbing the all-time saves leaderboard. Kenley Jansen currently sits seventh on that list with 420 while Kimbrel is eighth with 417. Both of those closers will have a chance to jump three more spots in 2024. Billy Wagner is currently sixth with 422, John Franco is fifth with 424 and Francisco Rodríguez is fourth with 437. That means each of Jansen and Kimbrel could be in the top five by the end of next year.
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