Former Chicago Cubs closer keeps finding work

Kimbrel is joining his 12th MLB franchise in his career, and his third this season. He was previously with the Rays and Mets this year. One might remember when the Cubs walked off Kimbrel as a Met earlier in April to complete a three-game sweep at Wrigley. Between the Rays and Mets, he has a 4.81 ERA, 1.3 WHIP, 8.9 K/9 (career low), and no saves.

Craig Kimbrel will not let go easily

It’s hard to believe Kimbrel will have pitched with eight different teams since leaving the North Side once he throws for Kansas City. Since 2021, he had one good season in 2023 with the Phillies. Otherwise, he’s been nowhere near close to his prime and has just bounced around. His Cubs tenure transitioned him from his elite era to his washed era.

From 2010-2018, he posted a 1.91 ERA, 1.96 FIP, 0.92 WHIP, and 868 strikeouts, and recorded 333 saves in 542 appearances. He wasn’t just good; he was historically great. Since joining the Cubs in 2019, he’s pitched to a 3.93 ERA, 3.85 FIP, and 1.2 WHIP, with 446 strikeouts and 107 saves in 342 appearances. His career ERA jumped from 1.91 to 2.67 over the past eight seasons. This includes the real rough first go on the North Side with the 6.53 ERA in 23 appearances in 2019.

Kimbrel has 440 career saves heading into Monday, which is fifth all-time. He’s still on track to be a Hall of Famer with 400+ saves and still very good overall numbers. With that said, these past few years have beaten up his stats a bit. His legacy should still be a good one, but no doubt it would be a bit different had he retired a few years ago.

At some point, he’s got to let it go, right? Yet he keeps finding jobs.