August 22: Houston finalized their one-year deal with Kimbrel this afternoon. They also activated Lance McCullers Jr. from the 15-day injured list to start tonight’s game in Baltimore. They cleared active roster space by optioning rookie Logan VanWey to Triple-A and placing southpaw Bennett Sousa on the 15-day injured list. Brandon Walter, who has been out for a month with elbow inflammation, was moved to the 60-day IL in the necessary 40-man move.
Sousa is dealing with elbow inflammation himself. Manager Joe Espada said Sousa reported discomfort after Tuesday’s appearance and has not progressed as hoped. He’s flying back to Houston for further evaluation while the team continues its road trip (link via Chandler Rome of The Athletic).
August 21: The Astros are in agreement with Craig Kimbrel on a major league contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The SportsMeter client was just granted his release from a minor league deal with Texas, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. Houston will need to create space on both the active and 40-man rosters.
Kimbrel spent a little more than two months in Triple-A with Texas. He signed in June one day after electing free agency from the Braves. That followed a bizarre sequence in which Kimbrel’s initial team called him up for one day. The nine-time All-Star labored through a scoreless inning in his lone appearance. That remains his only MLB outing this season. Kimbrel has otherwise divided the year between the upper minors affiliates of Atlanta and Texas.
Between the two organizations, Kimbrel carries a flat 3.00 earned run average in 39 minor league innings. He has recorded an excellent 31.5% strikeout percentage but has walked nearly 13% of batters faced. It’s a similar profile as Kimbrel has shown in the big leagues in recent seasons. He had a strikeout rate in the 31-34% range while issuing free passes between 10-13% of the time in both 2023 and ’24. Kimbrel remained effective with the Orioles in the first half of the ’24 season, but he melted down after the All-Star Break (20 earned runs in 17 innings) and has barely gotten an MLB look since then.
While the Triple-A results are solid, Kimbrel’s raw stuff hasn’t been as sharp this year. His fastball has been in the 92-93 MPH range in Triple-A; he averaged less than 92 on the heater in his only big league outing. He’d sat closer to 94 last year and was up to 96 as recently as 2023. He missed enough bats against minor league hitters to intrigue the Astros, whose bullpen has struggled of late.
Only the Rockies, Blue Jays and Nationals have a higher bullpen ERA than Houston does over the past month. The Astros lost Josh Hader for at least the remainder of the regular season to a capsule strain in his shoulder. Bryan Abreu is an elite back-end arm in his own right, and they have a strong left-handed trio of Steven Okert, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa. Abreu is essentially their only reliable righty reliever. Kimbrel’s command makes him a volatile bullpen piece as well, but he has more swing-and-miss upside than Enyel De Los Santos or Shawn Dubin provide in the middle innings.
The signing is expected to become official on Friday. Getting the deal done before September 1 means Kimbrel will be eligible for postseason play if the Astros qualify. He’ll have a little over five weeks of regular season action to convince the front office and coaching staff he’s worth carrying in October. Houston leads the Mariners by 1.5 games in the AL West. They’re 3.5 games clear of the Royals, the top team that is not currently in playoff position.
Image courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images.
He’s COOKED…
I can honestly say I don’t remember @13Morgs13 saying Kikuchi was cooked last year, but it’s a possibility.
🤦♂️
Good luck Dirty Craig
A pubic hairdo?
What could go wrong?
Hahahaha
condolences…
An Astros move that’s out of this world
stupid should sign pressly back .. but he might not want to go back after the BS treatment he got from them
His mother wants him back on the Astros.
Condiments. I like parsley in the side of my dish.
It’s sad the braves didnt give him much of a second chance
Its sad because he left them little choice..his stuff just isn’t what it needs to be to get mlb hitters out consistently
Good luck to him i watched him his last year in Boston and since he is just not reliable..and man he was atrocious the second half in Baltimore last year..if you watch his scoreless inning( available online) you will notice he struggles with command and velocity giving up at a hit and walk.
I think it was a combination of both, like it often is. The Braves handled it ham fistedly for sure, but also his stuff isn’t what it once was, obviously. His one scoreless inning in San Francisco, if I recall correctly, he walked somebody and gave up a hit, but got out of it scoreless due to a pickoff and something else. But I think he did strike out his last guy if I recall? Anyway, wish him all the success in the world.
Boy these animated dog food banners are invasive lol.
I guess you didn’t see him pitch that scoreless inning. He gave up 2 base runners. Luckily he picked one off and the other was caught stealing. That could have easily have been a 2+ run inning for the Giants. The guy was unhittable a decade ago because he got crazy movement on his 100mph fastball. Now he throws 92-93mph and that crazy movement is gone. I think it would be a tragedy for his Braves legacy to watch him getting torched consistently in garbage innings just because some fans have nostalgia for what he used to do. Heck the Yankees bullpen is a mess maybe they should sign Mariano Rivera for a comeback then send him out to get wrecked in the 6th every time they are down 2-3 runs.
I agree the stuff doesn’t look good but he is a veteran HOF caliber pitcher and he has consistently pitched well this year in AAA so perhaps, to some extent, he’s just a dude who knows how to get guys out relatively better than what we’d expect at first look. Or maybe not. Idk
It wasn’t luck. It was a dam skilled pickoff move. Old timer who knows all the tricks. But he did record a K I believe. It’s not like they were crushing him. It just didn’t look like good stuff. But there was a bit of deception to how he delivers it.
I agree with you. This chart alone – while not directly linked to velocity obsession – is still a pretty alarming trend that MLB published themselves.
img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/m7ec…
Hopefully the guy can end his career better than he was for my o’s last year.
Mariners should have done this, our bullpen is atrocious
But it could be a situation where the Mariners are avoiding pouring gas on a fire. Time will tell.
They just signed Fulmer. He should have plenty left in the tank and is a far better option than Kimbrel. If he can avoid an injury (a near impossibility for him it seems) he will be a great addition to their bullpen.
The Astros will be his ninth MLB team, and seventh since 2021. The latter number includes his brief return to the Braves.
And he will still likely go into the HOF. Great relievers can be well traveled. Goose Gossage also played on 9 teams over the years, most of them near the end. Heck, if Billy Wagner made it, might as well put in just about anyone.
Agreed aside from the random shot at Wagner. What relievers should have gotten in instead of him?
It’s not so much who should have made it instead. My main problem with Wagner was that he didn’t pitch enough innings. He barely cleared 900 career innings pitched and never pitched more than 86 innings in a season. The HOF is not just about being great, it is about longevity.
That sounds more like an argument about whether or not closers should make it into the hall. Because with your criteria, there will be next to none elected going forward
Nope, just closers that don’t pitch very much. BTW, I didn’t list any actual criteria, I only listed Wagner’s career totals. Stop making assumptions.
@hiflew
“Nope, just closers that don’t pitch very much. BTW, I didn’t list any actual criteria, I only listed Wagner’s career totals. Stop making assumptions.”
It feels like you are being pedantic here. You name two stats as points in why he should not be in the hall. Sounds like your argument is that he did not pitch enough innings to be elected to the HOF. How is that not implying a minimum IP criteria?
Start making clearer arguments
Naw. Wagner’s an obvious hall of famer. We don’t let enough relievers in. He’s literally one of a handful of the most dominant pitchers to ever step on a mound.
Have you compared Wagners case for the HOF? He pitched 13 years at an extremely high level, again, for 13 YEARS! I believe he has the second most strike outs to only M. Rivera. The only knock on Wagner was he retired while still being able to play. He left the game to enjoy his children’s lives with them instead of by pics and phone calls. I respect the hell out of him for putting his family first. Remember, he was not a natural left handed reliever. He had to teach himself to pitch with his left handed to play. Maybe dig into the facts, not just a comment.
What makes you think I don’t know any of that? I was commenting on the lack of career innings for the man, not his ability as a father or ability to teach himself to pitch with another hand. By the way, neither of those things should contribute to being a HOFer. The amount of years is not really significant either if you only pitch 60 innings a year.
I am just thinking of guys like Johan Santana who was kept out because injuries shortened his career significantly and yet he pitched more than twice as many innings as Wagner, Why should he be punished because he was asked to pitch more innings per game than Wagner? The same case will be made for Jacob deGrom who already has 600 more innings pitched than Wagner.
I am not really trying to pick on Wagner. He was a helluva pitcher. He just wasn’t on the mound long enough to be a true HOFer in my mind. A career one inning closer is not worthy of the Hall to me.
You could also argue that he didn’t have enough ABs. That’s another stat that really doesn’t apply to a relief pitcher. Relief pitchers will never have the innings of a starting pitcher, because they are not a starting pitcher. HOF worthy relievers will almost always have more appearances than a starting pitcher, who may get into 35 games all year. Top relievers get into 50-60+ games each year. Maybe Santana was kept out because he didn’t have enough appearances. Just as good an argument as yours about Wagner. Next time, try apples to apples.
You said you weren’t making an argument against closers as a whole getting in, but in your argument, you compared his innings totals to two career-long starting pitchers…
hiflew-Kind of with you on closers, possibly the most overrated impact to a game this side of NFL kick returners (I don’t agree with Hester in HOF there either).
Closers are put in when the other team is behind and desperate, and the average MLB starter would still put up a number of saves if allowed to focus on 1 IP. Over 162 games a team will average over 1400 innings played, even if the closer gets 50 saves/60 IP, he’s impacted 4% of game time. Give me a starter who put up 180 IP at a 2-2.5 ERA with 4x the impact on a game.
Same with MVP races, and I carry that grudge back to 1984 when Eddie Murray (or else Mattingly or Hrbek) should have been AL MVP rather than Hernandez.
Rob Dibble/Randy Myers/Norm Charlton would be awesome additions to the Hall. Those speeches would be a riot.
We only view it that way because few relievers from the modern era of pitching an inning per outing (basically) have gotten in the HOF yet and it is precisely because we have this bias about the innings that we haven’t adjusted from yet. In regards to other pitchers not being in like Santana who have thrown many more innings the answer is simple-put them all in. Santana obviously deserves in. Innings innings innings…humbug
Exactly what Kimbrel should do
The Astros better hope they don’t need Kimbrel during high leverage situations. It’s a big reason the Phillies lost the 2023 NLCS.
Here’s to hoping they have no high leverage situations due to missing the playoffs or getting knocked out in the first round.
Cheers!
Mariners and Astros trying hard as they can to both lose the division.
How does Ryan Stanek and Paul Blackburn have jobs but Kimbrel had to wait all season outside of one outing? Doesn’t make sense to me
Blackburn’s been DFA’d once already, He may have lasted as long as he did with the Mets because he kept getting injured, and the club hoped he’d be better each time he came back from the IL. That said, Kimbrel’s fastball velo per Baseball Savant is 91.6, that’s even worse than Blackburn’s 92.1 mph.
Blackburn keeps getting chances because he’s got a 3-4 pitch mix: Sinker (26.2%), Cutter (24.5%), Sweeper (19.1%) and a curve he’ll throw occasionally (14.2%). His chase rate is 27.5% and whiff rate 21.1%.
Kimbrel overwhelingly relies on his 4-seamer, which is pretty much gone now. He can’t be a fireballer anymore. He’s gotta actually be a “pitcher” and use his secondary pitches to set up his fastball. IMO, he got DFA’d by Atlanta because he overwhelmingly kept trying to rely on that 4-seamer (10 pitches.) He only threw his sweeper twice, and a knuckle curve twice. If a veteran doesn’t want to admit he’s not the same player anymore and change his pitch mix, there’s not much a club’s going to try to do about it unless they’ve got too much $$ tied up in the guy to let him fail.
Stanek can still make it up to 100mph on occasion but it’s a very straight fastball. No movement. But he will keep getting jobs because of that velocity.
Lol Stanek. So much heat, so little thought.
The Dodgers have the worst bullpen in baseball and they aren’t even that desperate.
Uh, the Nats bullpen would like a word…
It’s been an awful season in which the guys who brought a WS to DC got fired, and we have terrible ownership. At least give us the title of Worst Bullpen in Baseball.
I’ve only seen him close a couple games but Jose Ferrer looked pretty good to my eyes. Maybe I’m just seeing the good appearances? I know it’s just one guy but his stuff looks good And he made quick work of the Mets last night. Silver lining in the pen?
Giants have something to say about that.
Krumble
The Astros pitching gurus may squeeze something out of him. If not DFA and next.
That great AAA K/9 also featured a high 5.1 BB/9 at Round Rock, and a 4.9 BB/9 at Gwinnett. He gave up 12 hits in the 21 IP at RR, including 4 HR. Furthermore he’s 9.8 years older than the average PCL hitter. He *should* be posting that kind of K/9 numbers at AAA, and the BB/9 should be better,
He has AAA strikeout stuff. MLB hitters will feast on that 4-seamer.
Well the 2005 Astros signed closer John Franco at the end of his career. Maybe Kimbrel has something left in his tank.
Good signing by the Astros as long as they don’t ever bring him in to pitch with a lead
Good signing by the Astros as long as they don’t ever bring him in to pitch.
FIFY
Playoff albatross.
If that’s not a move of desperation, I don’t know what is. Good for Craig, I guess, to get another couple paychecks before it’s over…
Houston needs a reliever, and they can only choose from what’s available. Waivers and scrub FAs don’t have high end talent. Gotta look for hidden gems.
Game over
You guys are gonna love this guy. He does this little bendy over thing before each pitch where he gets his body parallel with the mound and stares daggers at the batter. Then raises his pitching arm up to be parallel with the mound as well, but kinda dangles the rest of his arm (below the elbow) straight down. Oh it’s the best. Congratulations 🎉
This guy just won’t go away.
maybe they shouldn’t have screwed over pressly
i still cant believe hader suddenly out of nowhere out of the blue went from the most dominating CL in mlb to out for the year. how the f does that happen overnite?
Now Sousa is hurt! Cranky!
So easy to forget how dominant Kimbrel was early in his career should not get the dismissive have he gets,
over the hill kimbrel was completely cooked when he was with the Phillies
How does this guy keep getting signed? He hasn’t been good in a long time! A shadow of his former self.
I can’t believe Cornball Kimbrel still pitches.
I’ll be surprised if this pays off for the ‘Stros.
The amount of mental effort and physical effort this idiot puts into posing like Spider-Man before each and every pitch is just astonishing. Its astonishing for many reasons, but mainly that teams allow him to do it and the league allows it. Its just stupid, a waste of time, you look silly when you get taken deep, you could possibly strain your shoulder muscles when dehydrated, its just overall ridiculous. Plus he’s garbage…