Craig Kimbrel is headed to Cooperstown once he retires. But he sure didn’t pitch like a Hall of Famer with the White Sox. Unfortunately, the Baltimore Orioles had to learn the hard way just how inconsistent Kimbrel can be. Just three years removed from pitching on the South Side he has been designated for assignment.
During the 2021 season former White Sox general manager Rick Hahn made a bold trade sending former first-round pick Nick Madrigal to the Cubs in exchange for Kimbrel in the hopes that a premier relief arm would be enough to put the White Sox into World Series contention.
At the time of the trade, Kimbrel was an All-Star with the Chicago Cubs and looked virtually unhittable. He owned a microscopic 0.49 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP. Opponents were hitting just .106 off of him and he was 23 for 25 in save opportunities.
The White Sox used him primarily as a setup man and he badly struggled, posting a 5.09 ERA. He also allowed 31 baserunners in 23 innings. When the White Sox did give him save opportunities he failed to get the job done. He only converted 1 of 4 save opportunities including back-to-back blown saves against Boston. He also allowed six home runs in 39 appearances after allowing just one on the Northside of town.
However, a move that looked so good on paper turned out to be a disaster. He posted a 5.09 ERA, allowed 31 baserunners in 23 innings, and converted only one of his four save opportunities. In the postseason it was even worse. Kimbrel came in a high-leverage situation in Game 2 and got shelled. Kimbrel served up a home run and two earned runs in just 0.2 innings pitched. He finished the series with a 9.00 ERA in three appearances.
Now the Orioles, who are hoping to make a deep playoff run, are trying to cut their losses before Kimbrel does the same thing to them. Baltimore inked him to a one-year deal worth $13 million this offseason to replace All-Star Felix Bautista, who was on the shelf with Tommy John surgery.
Kimbrel got off to a hot start in Baltimore, but things got off the rails in July. In 57 games this season he owns a 5.33 ERA. Kimbrel does have a 31.5 percent strikeout rate, which is amongst the MLB’s best, but it has been overshadowed by a 13.4 percent walk rate which ranks in the bottom two percent of MLB pitchers. Since July 14 he has surrendered 23 hits and five homers.
Since he was DFA’d so late in the season he will be ineligible for another team’s postseason roster meaning he will likely remain on waivers for the rest of the season.
