Craig Kimbrell. (Orlando Ramirez-USA Today Sports)
The Phillies sign close quarters Craig Kimbrel to a one-year deal in hopes of rehabilitating him after a turbulent end to his time with the Dodgers.
Craig Kimbrel didn’t exactly set the world on fire with the Dodgers last season. Which certainly did not help them in their quest for the World Championship. He didn’t even make their NLDS list.
The Phillies are hopeful they can get different and better results from Kimbrel in 2023.
Ken Rosenthal first reported on Kimbrel’s Philadelphia deal with Jeff Passan adding details that it’s a one-year, $10 million deal.
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Kimbrel is a seven-time All-Star, most recently earning the honor in 2021. However, his recent history makes this addition a bit of a risk for Philadephia at $10 million, making him the highest-paid arm of their barn.
The closer was 22 saves in 63 appearances for the Dodgers. That was an improvement to his 5.09 ERA with the White Sox at the end of 2022 and definitely better than any player in the 2022 bullpen. Corey Knibble led the team with 12 saves.
However, Kimbrel struggled with his drive at times, throwing seven wild pitches and blowing four tackles for Los Angeles. His ERA of 3.75 was a reflection of his inconsistent pitching, giving up runs in parts even if he had enough good nights to increase his saves. He lost his job as the Dodger lead loomed in September and was not included in the postseason roster.
Phillies fans will be happy to hear that Kimbrel pitched 19.1 innings at Citizens Bank Park, giving up just 10 hits and no runs. The sample size isn’t bad at that either. He has played more games at only five other parks in MLB.
With the move, Phillies baseball operations chief David Dombrowski is reunited with a pitcher who was in great form for the Red Sox when he was in charge in Boston.
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