Braves’ handling of Craig Kimbrel was baffling

The Atlanta Braves’ handling of Craig Kimbrel was completely baffling.

The Braves in March signed Kimbrel to a minor-league deal. He pitched in three games for Double-A Columbus and was nearly flawless with no hits and only one walk allowed over 3.1 innings. Then he moved up to Triple-A Gwinnett and went 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA over 14.2 innings.

On Thursday, the Braves blew a 10-4 lead in the 9th inning and allowed seven runs to fall 11-10 to the Diamondbacks. Following that game, we learned the team was calling up Kimbrel from the minors. They designated Scott Blewett for assignment after he allowed three home runs to Arizona in the 9th.

Then the Braves had Kimbrel pitch in their 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants in 10 innings on Friday night. He pitched a scoreless 7th, allowing one hit and a walk while striking out one. He threw just 6 strikes in 14 pitches and was aided by a caught stealing and pickoff.

Then a day later, the Braves announced that they were designating Kimbrel for assignment and recalling Austin Cox, a lefthanded pitcher.

Braves fans were baffled by the handling of Kimbrel and how he had been let go after just one appearance.