User:GhostRiver/kimbrel

Craig Michael Kimbrel (born May 28, 1988) is an American professional baseball relief pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies. A nine-time All-Star, Kimbrel won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2018.

Early life
Craig Michael Kimbrel was born May 28, 1988, in Huntsville, Alabama, the oldest of Mike and Sandy Kimbrel's three sons. He attended Lee High School in Huntsville, where he was baseball teammates with Buddy Boshers. When he was 18 years old, Kimbrel fractured his left foot on a cut of drywall. He could not put weight on that foot and was forced to practice throwing from his knees, which increased his strength and the velocity on his fastball when he recovered.

Draft and minor leagues
The Braves selected Kimbrel again in the 2008 MLB Draft, this time in the third round with the 96th overall pick, and he signed with the team for a $391,000 bonus. He was then assigned to the Rookie-level Danville Braves of the Appalachian League, with whom he went 1-2 with six saves and a 0.47 ERA in 12 relief appearances, all while holding his opponents to a .076 batting average against.


 * 2008 Rome Braves
 * 2008 Myrtle Beach Pelicans
 * 2009 Rome Braves
 * 2009 Myrtle Beach Pelicans
 * 2009 Mississippi Braves
 * 2009 Gwinnett Braves
 * 2009 Peoria Saguaros
 * 2010 Gwinnett Braves

Atlanta Braves (2010–2014)

 * 2010
 * 2011
 * 2012
 * 2013
 * 2014

San Diego Padres (2015)
On April 5, one day before the start of the 2015 MLB season, the Braves traded Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Carlos Quentin, Cameron Maybin, two prospects, and a future draft pick. Jason Grilli, who had served as Kimbrel's setup man in 2014, would become Atlanta's closer, while Kimbrel was replacing Joaquin Benoit in San Diego. His presence on the team was initially polarizing among fans: despite converting 12 of his first 13 save opportunities, Kimbrel also had an ERA of 5.00 by the end of May, and had allowed three home runs in a span of 18 innings. While facing his old team on June 8, Kimbrel recorded his 200th career save with a perfect 11th inning to take the game 5–3. By doing so in his 318th major league game, he broke Jonathan Papelbon's record of 359 games to 200 saves.

Kimbrel seemed to recover after the first two months of the season, taking his ERA down to 1.79 by mid-September and holding his opponents to a .110 batting average. At the same time, however, the Padres fell behind in the NL West, going 8–16 between August 22 and September 17. Without the need for a closer, the Padres used Kimbrel only six times in this span, including three non-save opportunities. On September 17, Kimbrel, who had come into the game in the bottom of the eighth inning to relieve Benoit, recorded his first career at bat. He struck out looking in the top of the ninth inning against Arizona Diamondbacks closer Josh Collmenter, ending the inning, but retired the Diamondbacks in order to take the game 4–3 and register his 37th save of the season. Interim manager Pat Murphy justified the decision to let Kimbrel hit by saying that he did not want to use a double switch when the Padres were ahead by a run. Although Kimbrel went 4–2 with a 2.58 ERA in 61 appearances for the Padres, struck out 87 batters in $59 1/3$ innings, and successfully converted 39 out of 43 save opportunities, the Padres finished 74–88 for their fifth consecutive losing season.

Boston Red Sox (2016–2018)
On November 13, 2015, the Padres traded Kimbrel to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for four top prospects. It was the first major trade of Dave Dombrowski's tenure as Boston's president of baseball operations. To accommodate Kimbrel, closer Koji Uehara moved up to the eighth inning, and setup man Junichi Tazawa was trusted with the seventh. Although his 3.66 ERA and 17 saves in 19 chances were not Kimbrel's career best, he received his fifth career and first American League (AL) All-Star selection on July 5. Three days later, however, Kimbrel injured his left knee during pitching warmups, and he was diagnosed with a medial meniscus tear that would require surgery and three to six weeks of recovery. He returned on August 1 after making one rehab appearance for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. Although Kimbrel struggled during sparing eighth-inning outings and rarely made clean saves, he picked up his 250th career save on September 11, joining Francisco Rodríguez as the only relievers to reach the mark before their 29th birthday. He finished the season with a 2-6 record, 3.40 ERA, and 83 strikeouts in 57 games and 53 innings. Additionally, Kimbrel recorded 31 saves in 33 chances before joining the Red Sox for the 2016 American League Division Series (ALDS) against the Cleveland Indians.
 * 2017
 * 2018

Chicago Cubs (2019–2021)
A difficult free agent market meant that Kimbrel missed over a third of the 2019 MLB season before finding a place to pitch. On June 5, the Chicago Cubs, who were struggling with a number of injuries to their bullpen and had extra salary space after Ben Zobrist went on personal leave, signed Kimbrel to a three-year contract on June 5. Under the terms of the contract, Kimbrel would earn $10 million in 2019, followed by $16 million apiece in 2020 and 2021. Having not pitched in seven months at the time of the signing, he was assigned to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs in order to build back pitching strength before rejoining the majors.


 * 2019
 * 2020
 * 2021

Chicago White Sox (2021)
At the 2021 MLB trading deadline, the Cubs traded Kimbrel to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for second baseman Nick Madrigal and pitcher Codi Heuer. The White Sox, who already had an established closer with All-Star Liam Hendriks, decided to platoon the two relievers in high-leverage situations. Kimbrel struggled with pitch command upon the trade, particularly with his four-seam fastball and his curveball. Despite maintaining a 0.49 ERA with the Cubs, his White Sox ERA was 5.78 by September 22, with 17 hits and four home runs in 19 innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers (2022)
On April 1, 2022, the White Sox traded Kimbrel to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for outfielder A. J. Pollock.

Baltimore Orioles (2024–present)
On December 6, 2023, Kimbrel signed a one-year, $12 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles, with a club option for the 2025 season. With Félix Bautista expected to miss the 2024 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, the Orioles acquired Kimbrel as their replacement closer.

Pitching style
Kimbrel is known for the unique stance he takes before each pitch. Rather than holding his right arm behind his back as he waits for a signal from his catcher, Kimbrel holds his arm to the side, with his hand pointed downwards. He began utilizing this stance in 2010, after a bout of biceps tendinitis made holding his arm behind his back too painful.