*Photo from Phillies Nation*
They had a need, and they went and filled it. The Baltimore Orioles and RHP Craig Kimbrel have agreed to a one year, $13 million contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Orioles have confirmed the signing.
Kimbrel's contract has a $12 million salary in 2024 and includes a team option for 2025 worth $13 million with a $1 million buyout. There are also incentives included that can bump up the salary. He'll become the Orioles highest paid player since Mike Elias took over before the 2019 season.
Elias said of Kimbrel that "He is one of the best closers in baseball history at this point. He’s still got a lot left in the tank, and he had a really solid season last year, and we see a lot of things from a scouting perspective going forward that has us placing a pretty big bet that this guy’s going to have a really good season for us."
Last season, Kimbrel made his 9th career all star team, this time doing so with the Philadelphia Phillies. He posted a 3.26 ERA, 3.81 FIP, and 1.043 WHIP, picking up 23 saves in 69 innings and 71 appearances. He allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks in 7 appearances and 6 innings in the playoffs.
The Orioles needed a closer at the back end of their bullpen after breakout closer Felix Bautista suffered a UCL injury near the end of 2023 that required Tommy John Surgery, which likely sidelines him for all of 2024. Kimbrel fills that need, ranking second among active closers in career saves.
Elias said of the move that "We’ve got this really great team, great roster, that’s missing its closer because of injury. We’ve got a guy that loves pitching leverage innings and closing out games, and he loves winning. And he saw a team that could use him."
Kimbrel has played for 7 different teams over 14 years in the league since debuting in 2010. He has a 2.40 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 2.47 FIP to his name, averaging 14.2 strikeouts per 9 innings with 417 career saves in 757 1/3 innings across 780 appearances, all in relief. Kimbrel has a 4.50 ERA and 1.433 WHIP over 30 appearances and 30 innings in the playoffs, picking up 10 saves.
The 417 saves Kimbrel has in the regular season make him 8th in AL/NL history in saves, with only Kenley Jansen's 420 saves ahead of him among active closers. He has won reliever of the year awards in both the AL and NL and took home NL reliever of the month this past June.
Kimbrel joins an Orioles bullpen that shined last year, ranking 5th in ERA, first in FIP, 7th in win probability added, and second in fWAR. Yennier Cano and Danny Coulombe project to be the setup options ahead of Kimbrel in the 9th inning.
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