*Photo from MassLive*
Want another reliever? You can have another reliever. The Philadelphia Phillies and RHP Craig Kimbrel have agreed to a one year, $10 million deal, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Phillies have confirmed the deal.
Kimbrel has been a fascinating case in baseball in recent memory. His 2019 and 2020 seasons with the Chicago Cubs were disastrous, then he rebounded with 23 saves in the first half of 2021 with a dazzling 0.49 ERA. He was then dealt across town to the White Sox, where he posted a 5.09 ERA in a setup role. He was then off to a good start in 2022 before a bad second half derailed his season and left him off the playoff roster.
That 2022 season was spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers after being traded from the White Sox. He posted a 3.75 ERA and 3.23 FIP, throwing 60 innings and picking up 22 saves for the Dodgers over 63 relief appearances, adding a 1.32 WHIP to the equation.
One of Kimbrel's struggles during his fall in the end of 2022 was his lack of ability to miss bats. Over the whole season, he averaged 10.8 strikeouts per 9 innings. That was by far the lowest of his career, having never dropped below 13 strikeouts per 9 in any other season.
Kimbrel has played for 6 different teams over his 13 seasons in the major leagues. He has made 709 relief appearances, with a 0.99 WHIP, 2.31 ERA, and 2.34 FIP. He's thrown 688 1/3 innings in that time frame, racking up 394 saves, including a 50 save season in 2013. He has 7 saves in 24 innings pitched over 23 playoff appearances.
With his 394 career saves, Kimbrel, who turns 35 in May, has the 7th most saves in baseball history. He'll need just 6 saves to join the 400 save club in baseball, becoming the 7th person to do that. He'll need 29 saves to pass Billy Wagner for the 6th most saves in baseball, with Mariano Rivera in first with 652 saves.
In the Phillies bullpen, Kimbrel will join a high leverage group that includes Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarado, and new signing Matt Strahm, with Connor Brogdon and Andrew Bellatti possibly getting high leverage opportunities.
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