Craig Kimbrel has elected free agency after the Atlanta Braves outrighted him to Triple-A. The brief reunion is officially over. Kimbrel was designated for assignment on Saturday following his lone appearance back in a Braves uniform.
He pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing a walk and a hit while picking up a strikeout. He threw six of his 14 pitches for strikes and his fastball sat a touch about 91 miles per hour. Once he was DFA’d, his exit from the organization was a given. He wasn’t going to accept an assignment back to the minor leagues.
The Braves signed Kimbrel toward the end of Spring Training to a minor league deal that had a $2 million salary attached to a minor league call up. He spent about two months in the minor before getting the call ahead of his appearance. For what it’s worth, he brought a lot of people some early 2010s nostalgia.
During his first stint with the Braves, he was arguably the best closer in baseball with a 1.43 ERA and 186 saves over five seasons. He led the National League in saves in four consecutive years and won Rookie of the Year in 2011. He remained a top closer for a few more seasons but has been dealing with inconsistent results since 2019.
Kimbrel still likely put together a Hall of Fame career for himself. Overall, he still has a career 2.59 ERA, 1,266 strikeouts and 440 saves. There’s a chance that this last appearance with the Braves was his last time on a mound before this likely Hall of Fame career is over.
There’s always a chance another team picks up, but it’s not looking great for the 37-year-old righty. He already had to settle for a minor league deal, and he likely took it because of the team that offered it. At the very least, he got to wear to pitch for the Braves one last time. If this is it, he went out with the team he came in with.
More From Atlanta Braves on SI
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
