The Texas Rangers have dipped into the market of relief pitching. They agreed to terms on a minor-league contract with right-hander Craig Kimbrel on Tuesday evening, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He elected free agency on Monday after the Atlanta Braves passed him through waivers unclaimed.
Short Stay in Atlanta
The 37-year-old righty inked a minor-league deal with the Braves in March. He reported to Triple-A Gwinnett and tossed 18 innings with an earned run average of 2.00. His 12.9% walk rate was a little high but he also struck out 32.9% of batters faced. The Braves called him up last week but designated him for assignment after one appearance. He tossed one scoreless inning against the San Francisco Giants, allowing one hit and surrendering one walk while striking out one.
Kimbrel’s track record is well known. He has had flashes of dominance in the sport at times and is currently fifth on the all-time saves list. The real question is whether he can still be an effective major league reliever, especially when protecting a late, narrow lead. His recent track record is shaky.
He had an ERA north of 5.00 in both 2019 and 2020. He got that down to more reasonable levels for the 2021-23 seasons but struggled again last year. Kimbrel had a 2.80 ERA in the first half with the Baltimore Orioles but was lit up for a 10.59 ERA in the second half. He was released before the season ended.
Help Needed
The Rangers have been looking for affordable solutions for their bullpen for a long time. In the offseason, they wanted to upgrade the group but also wanted to avoid the competitive balance tax. They signed Chris Martin, Hoby Milner, Luke Jackson, Jacob Webb, Shawn Armstrong, and Luis Curvelo to major-league contracts. None of those deals are worth more than $5.5 million. They also acquired Robert Garcia, who has not yet qualified for arbitration, in the trade that sent Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals.
They are currently running a four-man rotation with Nathan Eovaldi on the injured list and Kumar Rocker recently optioned to the minors. The Rangers can have Tyler Mahle, Jack Leiter, Patrick Corbin, and Jacob deGrom start the next four games but might need to do something creative by Saturday. Perhaps they will do a bullpen game or call up a minor leaguer for a spot start. Perhaps a fresh arm will be necessary in the next week, and Kimbrel could be the man for the job.
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