WEDNESDAY: The Cubs expect Kimbrel to return Thursday or Friday, according to Maddon (via Wittenmyer).
MONDAY: Winners of five consecutive games, the Cubs have sizzled over the past several days as they attempt to earn their fifth straight playoff berth. A few of those victories came in blowout fashion, which means Chicago has largely been able to get by without the services of injured closer Craig Kimbrel. The club probably won’t be able to cruise to all of its wins over the next couple weeks, though, making it imperative for Kimbrel to return. It appears that’s close to happening, as president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and manager Joe Maddon suggested Monday that Kimbrel could be back for the Cubs’ crucial series against the division-rival Cardinals this weekend, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. In the meantime, he’ll throw a simulated game Tuesday.
The Cubs have been sans Kimbrel since he landed on the injured list Sept. 5 (retroactive to Sept. 1) with right elbow inflammation. The normally stellar Kimbrel had endured a rough season even before then, as he surrendered 12 earned runs on 18 hits and 11 walks (with 26 strikeouts) over 19 innings.
The 5.68 ERA, 6.64 FIP, 5.21 BB/9 and 2.84 HR/9 Kimbrel have posted this year aren’t the type of numbers the Cubs had in mind when they signed the 31-year-old to a three-year, $43MM guarantee in June, thus ending a long standoff in free agency between him and the league. At that point, Kimbrel was coming off yet another more-than-respectable season. The former Brave, Padre and Red Sox entered 2019 with a 2.04 ERA/2.13 FIP, 14.58 K/9, 3.52 BB/9 and a .67 HR/9 across 551 2/3 lifetime frames.
With the Cubs just a game up on the Brewers for the NL’s second wild-card spot and two back of the Cards in the NL Central, it would be a boon for a wobbly bullpen if Kimbrel were to revisit his vintage form as September nears a conclusion. Otherwise, more blowups from the Cubs’ prized summer signing down the stretch could help lead to a premature ending to their season.
Wow… No comments yet? I guess no one cares about Kimbrel anymore. Like Connor Byrne said, this “isn’t what the Cubs had in mind when they signed him to a $43 million contract.” What a mistake. I know he has his productive outings but the Cubs have been winning because they haven’t needed him. I challenge any Cubs fan to truthfully tell me that the Cubs brass would still sign this contract if they knew he would perform this way. There are no re-do’s in life so I understand how they could make this mistake. I just want someone to try and convince me that, in hindsight, the Cubs DON’T want a re-do on this.
This article was posted quite late, not surprised there are few comments at this point. Of course no one would still sign that contract, that is often the case when a player struggles at the beginning of the contract. That doesn’t mean that he won’t still be worth the contract. Players often (usually) struggle when they sign midseason, Cubs just have to hope he bounces back next year
Craig Kimbrel isn’t done yet. Just a little more outstanding pitching in the next few years and this guy is a hall of famer.
Your question makes no sense. Obviously any team that signed someone who underperformed would love to take the contract offer back. How is that a challenge to Cubs fans to defend the contract?? Hindsight is 20/20 bro.
The Cubs have Strop, Cishek, and Kintzler coming off the books next year. Edward’s pitched himself off the team. And guys like Wick and Ryan weren’t known commodities in early June. The RP market isn’t great this off season with no legit closer being available. Kimbrel gave the Cubs a chance to get ahead of the FA market for this coming winter at a cost that’s less than guys like Wade Davis, Ian Kennedy, and Mark Melancon. The signing was made as much – or more – for 2020 than it was for 2019. So yea, the Cubs would have still signed him if they knew he was going to struggle early.
Secs is just butthurt from the time he wrote that dissertation on the Kimbrel thread a while ago and everyone called him a blowhard even though he believed his analysis was so thoughtful. Stay mad Secs
Haha! It was kind of a dissertation wasn’t it? Don’t hate. I got my PhD outta that.
Hindsight is 20/20?
It is what it is.
not gonna pretend i know what the FO is thinking, but i would bet there had to be a fair amount of accepting the possibility of kimbrel struggling this year. typically guys that sign that late take a while to settle in… sometimes not until the next season. kuechel is more of an exception to the rule.
i can answer for myself though, and if it was me i still would have signed him for that contract. there won’t be any better arms on the market this offseason at that price and the cubs can’t afford to keep trading for closers.
I’m pretty sure the FO’s exact thoughts before the signing were, “Well s#$! it’s not like it can get any worse.” Strop was really struggling.
Just wanted to ask how people feel about a couple of things
1 Is Quintana’s option still a slam dunk?
2 Should the team re-sign Hamels if he came a bit cheaper than market value?
3 Should the team trade Almora / Happ / Caratini?
4 Should the team retain Phelps?
5 With some contracts coming off the books who would you want the team to target the most in free agency? (Players besides Cole and Redon)
1. Yes
2. No.
3. Almora has no value. And the other two don’t have. early enough value to trade.
4. Yes
5. Castellanos. outside the org, they need bullpen pieces because only Kimbrel, Wick, and Ryan are under contract.
1. Yes
2. No. Give him a QO and let him ride into the sunset.
3. I think Caratini could be a starter on 1/3 of the teams in baseball. They should try to look for quality bullpen help by trading him and sign a defensive minded veteran catcher that can help the Cubs aging staff next year.
4. Phelps has an incentive trigger that will bump his salary to $5M next year if he plays in 5 more games. Otherwise, it’s $3M if he doesn’t. You retain him at $3M. Not at $5M.
5. Agree on Castellanos. Rendon isn’t a fit unless you deal Schwarber or Bryant. I think Cole ends up a Yankee no matter what.
Surprised you two chose yes for Quintana’s option
I was thinking, let him go and slot in Chatwood,
use the money saved up from him and Hamels
for a upgrade like Mad Bum or Zack Wheeler.
Especially with the 2021 starting pitcher market being empty of talent.
If you don’t want Hamels back at a discounted price,you probably don’t wanna give him a qualifying offer….He’s making 20m this year,last years qualifying offer was 17.9,and if nobody was giving up draft capital to sign Keuchel or Kimbrel,they’re not likely to give it up for Hamels.
The cubs sure know how to blow money and not get results. I can’t wait for the excuses this year
they can sign one of rendon or catellanos and keep bryant and schwarber.
sign rendon and slide bryant to RF
sign nick and keep the same positions they have now
sign both and you have too many starting corner outfielders
any team with deep pockets will blow money and not get results. it’s the nature of the beast.
the excuses… or reasons for this season are poor trades and poor free agent signings. to a lesser extent poor managing, but the FO set maddon up to fail.
better moves by the FO over the last few years (Q, darvish, chatwood, descalso, morrow, etc) and this team is still capable winning 95+
You think the Cubs can afford a high priced free agent like Rendon?!
Are you forgetting the arbitration raises for Bryant, Baez, Contreras,and Schwarber
Baez is probably getting a $5 mil raise, Bryant is probably getting around $8 mil, Contreras at least $4 mil, and Schwarber around $3 mil.
Even when you dump Morrow’s option, you’re paying 3 mil to buy out the option and you now have a payroll of $170 million+ without adding the replacement for Cole Hamels, any bullpen pieces, a much needed center fielder, and depth.
You truly underestimate how much salary flexibility the Cubs have if they are still looking to stay under the luxury tax threshold.
They probably have about $25 million, a conservative estimate, to play with this offseason after accounting for the arb raises.
what are you talking about? nobody said that they would without moving salary.
1 – yes, even as just a BOR starter he’s worth that money and he’s got upside… this is coming from someone that hated the trade at the time and hate it even more now
2 – that depends on how cheap he comes, but i’d personally like to see alzolay and mills given a real look to win the 5th spot. they’re gonna have to start giving these young arms real opportunities at some point.
3 – almora and happ, sure… on caratini that depends on what the return is. i would listen but wouldn’t let him go for cheap.
4 – no more than a 1 year deal for me
5 – castellanos, kendrick, dickerson, kintzler, smith
Honestly, you Cubs fans that think the Cubs can sign marquee players like Cole or Redon are delusional. The Cubs have too much money invested in Lester, Darvish and Heyward while those contracts would be hard too move. In the mean time, guys like Bryant, Baez, Contreras and Schwarber are getting huge raises in arbitration cases. The only way the Cubs can get a guy like Cole or Redon is by making a move with trading Bryant and maybe another high price player to a contender with great minor leaguer players to rebuild and get certain pieces to fill voids.
the one guy that apparently represents all of “you cubs fans” that mentioned adding rendon, also mentioned moving salary as a facilitating factor.
i was speaking hypothetically, and just from a positional fit standpoint when i mentioned rendon. i don’t think they will sign him, nor do they need him.
No one mentions that the Cubs are now only 1/2 game behind the Nationals for the top Wild Card spot. You’d think the Nats have it locked up. They might not get in at all.
With Kimbrel, Baez and Rizzo on the shelf, the Cubs are starting to look like the TV show, M*A*S*H, only without the laugh track.
Bad time to be without these three, and of the three, Kimbrel is the least important. Even if he was never to return, I’d be OK with Cishek and Strop handling the eighth and ninth innings.
The wild-card race is oh-so close right now, and the NL Central title isn’t a lost cause, either. Would be more confident about the latter if the starting pithing was better.
Lately, only Hendricks is providing what’s been expected. Fact is, after his rough start to the season, one could easily say Hendricks has been the Cubs best starting pitcher the past four or so months.
Need the bats to keep on hammering. Things look pretty easy when you score in or close to double-digits each night.
Gonna see a patchwork batting order over the final two weeks. Can’t really say what to expect from that. Would be good if Heyward and Zobrist can provide a spark to augment Bryant and Castellanos. Man, thank God for Castellanos. He’s been terrific since being acquired.
Still think St. Louis wins the NL Central. Their starting pitching has been solid the past month as has their bullpen. Getting a big boost from Edman (Never heard of him until before this year.), and Fowler is doing a very good job in the lead off spot. Gonna be tough to surpass them, though the Cardinals are by no means a lock.
Brewers, maybe given up for dead way too early after Yelich went down, have been feisty and continue to win. From Day 1 I never liked their starting pitchers, but somehow they are staying afloat.
Buckle up, gonna be an interesting (Gut wrenching?) final week and a half.
Don’t watch a whole lot of Cubs games admittedly but the couple of times I’ve seen Strop I seem to remember him losing it and getting lit up. Is he really good enough to provide confidence in fans in a tough late inning situation? Not being a troll, it’s a serious question. Thanks.
Strop is pitching garbage time right now. He probably won’t make the playoff roster at this point.
Playoff roster? You have to be in the playoffs to have a playoff roster, right?
Only Hendricks? Have you seen Darvish pitch in the second half? He’s the one I’d tap right now for a big game. Hendricks a close second.
Strop is not the same this year. Even coming into a blowout game he wasn’t great. He was better than he has been but not great. I love Cishek but even he has his control moments lately.
no, strop is a disaster
it’s frustrating because the cubs SHOULD be set up to run away with this division, but the FO has inhibited their own team’s ceiling.
Kimbrel is coming back just in time to blow a few saves against the Cardinals and completely derail the Cubs season. They are better off without him on the active roster as their recent record has shown.
Kimbrel gives up too many walks and longballls to be useful as a closer. The cubs should avoid using him in pressure situations from this point on, or they’ll regret it.
It’s not like they have a wealth of other options for the tight and late innings, they don’t really have a choice. He’s one of the better options that they have. They can’t pitch Wick every inning
They do have a choice. Kimbrel is terrible.
kimbrel is not the reason the cubs season is derailed no matter what happens moving forward
Look on the bright side….. He’s not Edwin Diaz.
Nor Felipe Vazquez.
Bazinga
Can we leave that stupid stance on the IL though?
I’m a loyal Cub fan but this team is hard to watch. Better luck next year.
The GAS CAN is on his way back. Get out the lighter. Another Theo Flame Out. Look at the piles of $$$ burn into the Wrigley Night Air