World Series Champion Reliever Inks Minor League Deal with Texas Rangers

Kimbrel signed a minor league deal with Atlanta on March 18 and he made 18 effective appearances at multiple minor league stops before getting promoted last Friday. He threw a scoreless inning and recorded one strikeout, but was designated for assignment on Saturday.

A now 16-year veteran, Kimbrel is a nine-time All-Star, a Rookie of the Year winner and a World Series champion (Red Sox, 2018). He's played for the Braves, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles.

He served as the O's closer last year, struggling to the tune of a 5.33 ERA in 57 games. He had 23 saves. Lifetime, he has 440 saves, which is good enough for fifth on the all-time list behind Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith and Kenley Jansen.

Overall, he's appeared in 838 games with a 2.59 ERA. He spent the first five years of his career in Atlanta.

The Rangers enter play on Tuesday at 31-35 and in fourth place in the American League West. They'll take on the Minnesota Twins (35-30) on Tuesday at Target Field, with first pitch coming at 7:40 p.m. ET.

Right-hander Tyler Mahle will pitch for Texas while Simeon Woods-Richardson pitches for Minnesota. Mahle is 5-3 with a 2.02 ERA.

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