Kimbrel is close to an agreement with the Orioles, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Joel Sherman reported Tuesday night that talks between the two sides were picking up steam and it appears they're now nearing the finish line. It's unclear at this point what the details of the contract could look like. Kimbrel would presumably take over as closer for the Orioles with Felix Bautista (elbow) set to miss 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The 35-year-old Kimbrel posted a 3.26 ERA and 94:28 K:BB over 69 innings for the Phillies in 2023, collecting 23 saves along the way.
... See More... See Less
Orioles' Craig Kimbrel: Officially signs with Baltimore
Rotowire
The Orioles signed Kimbrel to a one-year, $13 million contract Wednesday with a $13 million club option for 2025, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first to pass along word that a deal was close, and now it's all official after Kimbrel passed his pre-signing physical. The veteran reliever registered a steady 3.26 ERA with 94 strikeouts across 69 regular-season innings for the Phillies in 2023, also racking up 23 saves. He will now step into the closer role in Baltimore as a replacement for Felix Bautista, who is slated to miss the entire 2024 campaign as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Locks down postseason save
Rotowire
Kimbrel allowed one hit in a scoreless inning to record a save in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Marlins in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series.
Kimbrel gave up a double to Josh Bell to put a run in scoring position, but he managed to close the door on the Marlins' hopes of coming back in Game 1. Kimbrel blew two of four save opportunities in September, despite an impressive 1.50 ERA in that stretch. However, the veteran right-hander is now a perfect 8-for-8 in save chances in the postseason over his career while posting a 3.96 ERA and 1.32 WHIP with 27 strikeouts across 25 innings.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Blows fourth save
Rotowire
Kimbrel blew the save in Friday's 5-4 extra-inning win over the Mets, allowing one run on one hit and no walks while striking out one over one inning.
Entrusted with a one-run lead in the ninth inning, Kimbrel saw Brett Baty crush a 432-foot solo shot with one out to hand the Phillies' reliever his fourth blown save of the season. Seranthony Dominguez wound up getting the win in the 10th. Kimbrel hadn't blown a save since Aug. 30, throwing eight scoreless innings since. He has a 3.27 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 88:28 K:BB and 23 saves over 66 innings this year.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Takes loss in extras
Rotowire
Kimbrel (7-6) took the loss in Tuesday's contest with Atlanta. He allowed an unearned run on one hit in one inning.
Kimbrel took an unfortunate loss in the 10th inning, allowing just one single that got past Philadelphia's drawn-in infield to score the automatic runner. Despite the loss, it marked his fifth straight appearance without allowing an earned run. Kimbrel is 23-for-26 in save opportunities this season with a 3.34 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 11.9 K/9 across 62 innings.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Snags 23rd save
Rotowire
Kimbrel picked up the save in Monday's 7-5 win over Atlanta. He allowed one hit while striking out one over a scoreless inning.
After a Nicky Lopez single with two outs, Kimbrel coaxed a ground out from Ronald Acuna, who represented the tying run, to lock down his 23rd save of the year. Kimbrel's held opponents scoreless in six of his last seven appearances, lowering his ERA to 3.39 with a 1.03 WHIP and 82:24 K:BB across 61 innings this season.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Earns 21st save in short order
Rotowire
Kimbrel picked up the save in Monday's 6-4 win over the Angels with a perfect ninth inning.
Kimbrel made quick work of the Angels on Monday, getting the final three outs on just seven pitches to shut the door on a 6-4 Philadelphia victory. After a few days off following a poor appearance Aug. 23, the veteran closer has converted save opportunities on back-to-back days. Kimbrel is now 7-for-9 in save chances since the All-Star break with a 2.84 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 17:7 K:BB across 19 second-half innings.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Locks down 20th save
Rotowire
Kimbrel picked up the save Sunday against the Cardinals. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning.
The Cardinals got the tying run to the plate against Kimbrel in the ninth, but he managed to coax a pop out from Nolan Arenado before striking out Willson Contreras to preserve a 3-0 victory. The save was Kimbrel's first since Aug. 5 -- the veteran closer struggled in his prior outing, allowing a pair of earned runs in an extra-innings loss to the Giants. Overall, Kimbrel's now 20-for-22 in save chances with a 3.27 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 74:21 K:BB across 55 innings this season.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Takes loss in extras
Rotowire
Kimbrel (7-4) took the loss Wednesday against the Giants. He allowed three runs (two earned) on a hit and a walk while striking out one over one inning.
After the Phillies scored three runs off Camilo Doval in the ninth inning to tie the game 5-5, Kimbrel surrendered three runs in the 10th in an eventual 8-6 loss. It was a rare hiccup for the veteran closer, who'd allowed just two earned runs in his previous 11 innings. Kimbrel now sports a 3.33 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 73:20 K:BB across 54 innings this season while going 19-for-21 in save chances.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Earns win in relief
Rotowire
Kimbrel (7-3) earned the win in Tuesday's 4-3 victory over San Francisco. He allowed one hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning.
Kimbrel entered in the ninth inning with Philadelphia trailing 3-2 and managed to escape the frame unscathed. Trea Turner then delivered a walk-off, two-run single in the bottom of the inning to earn Kimbrel his seventh win of the campaign. After a rough first month, the long-time closer has been dominant since May 9, successfully converting 16 of his 18 save opportunities with a 1.54 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and a 55:10 K:BB across 41 innings during that stretch.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Blows second save
Rotowire
Kimbrel blew the save in the 10th inning Wednesday during the Phillies' 9-8 loss to the Marlins, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits.
Kimbrel was far from the only Philadelphia reliever to have trouble putting Miami away after Zack Wheeler exited with a 5-2 lead, as the Phillies' bullpen collectively coughed up seven runs in five-plus innings. Both of Kimbrel's blown saves on the season have come since the All-Star break, and over his last 10 innings he has a tepid 8:4 K:BB despite a superficially strong 2.70 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. Gregory Soto got the nod in the ninth inning Wednesday and was also charged with a blown save, and he could keep working his way into the closer mix as long as Kimbrel continues to show signs of fading.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Grabs 18th save
Rotowire
Kimbrel worked a clean ninth inning to pick up the save in Monday's 4-2 win over the Marlins.
Kimbrel's pitched to a pristine 0.82 ERA over his last 22 innings -- he's allowed just three earned runs since the start of June. Overall, his ERA is down to 3.13 with a 0.96 WHIP and 65:18 K:BB across 46 innings this season while converting 18 of 19 save opportunities.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Secures 17th save
Rotowire
Kimbrel picked up the save Friday against Pittsburgh, allowing one walk over a scoreless ninth inning. He didn't record a strikeout.
Kimbrel blew a save and suffered a loss this week, but he's bounced back with two straight scoreless outings. Thursday's performance wasn't perfect, as the right-hander walked just his second batter over his past six appearances, but Kimbrel still got the job done and is now 17-for-18 in save chances this season with a 3.27 ERA and 64:18 K:BB.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Takes second loss
Rotowire
Kimbrel (6-2) took the loss in Monday's 3-2 defeat against the Orioles. He allowed a run on a hit and a walk while striking out one over one inning.
After walking Gunnar Henderson, who advanced to second on a wild pitch, Kimbrel surrendered a two-out double to Colton Cowser, giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth. Kimbrel has now allowed runs in back-to-back appearances following a 16-inning scoreless streak. Still, the veteran right-hander appears to have the closing job in Philly locked down while Jose Alvarado (elbow) remains on the IL. Kimbrel now has a 3.43 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP and 62:17 K:BB over 42 innings while going 16-for-17 in save opportunities this season.
... See More... See Less
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Nabs win after blowing save
Rotowire
Kimbrel (6-1) blew the save but picked up the win Sunday against the Guardians. He allowed one run on two hits while striking out one over one inning.
KImbrel took the mound with a 4-3 advantage in the bottom of the ninth but was unable to secure his 17th save of the season after allowing a solo homer to David Fry. The outing marked Kimbrel's first blown save of the season, first run surrendered since June 8 (16 appearances) and first long ball allowed since May 31.
