Royals' desperate search for bullpen help leads to Craig Kimbrel

The Kansas City Royals have been desperately looking for anyone who can get outs in the major league bullpen. That search has led to a potential future Hall of Fame closer.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Royals have signed Craig Kimbrel to a major league contract. Kimbrel had been released by the Rays on Thursday.

The Royals will be Kimbrel's 10th team since the start of the 2021 season and his third this season. He had begun the season as part of the Mets bullpen before heading to Tampa Bay. Kimbrel has posted a 4.81 ERA and a 1.337 WHiP in his 33.2 innings between the Mets and Rays, striking out 32 batters with 16 walks.

Craig Kimbrel cannot be much worse than the Kansas City Royals' current relievers

The Royals bullpen has been among the worst in the majors this season. Royals relievers had combined for a 5.28 ERA over their 514.2 innings entering Sunday, with the A's as the only team with a worse bullpen. Royals relievers rank 27th in strikeouts per nine innings (7.66 K/9), 28th in walks per nine innings (4.53 BB/9) and are last in fWAR (-3.5).

While Kimbrel may not appear to be much of an upgrade, there is some reason to hope that he can be a useful cog over the final few weeks of the season. He had posted a respectable 3.86 ERA and a 1.232 WHiP over his 18.2 innings with the Rays. The Royals would certainly take that performance given the state of their relief corps.