Craig Kimbrel made one appearance for the Tampa Bay Rays. He probably will not make a second. The 38-year-old closer was released by the Rays after a brutal debut that has the future Hall of Famer staring at the end of his playing career.
Kimbrel signed with Tampa Bay on a minor league deal earlier in the spring after struggling to find a home. The Rays brought him up to the major league roster last week, gave him one inning of work, and watched it go badly. The release came quickly after.
The numbers for Kimbrel over the past few seasons have been telling a story for a while. He posted an ERA north of 4.50 across stints with multiple teams. His fastball, which used to sit comfortably in the 97 to 99 range, has settled into the 93 to 94 range. His command has gotten worse. His signature curveball does not have the same bite.
The decline is what happens to virtually every relief pitcher who lasts as long as Kimbrel has. He has thrown over 700 innings of major league baseball. He has saved 440 games. He is sixth all-time in saves. The arm has earned the right to be tired.
What makes the Kimbrel story sting is how quickly the descent has happened. As recently as 2023, he was a productive closer for the Phillies. He earned All-Star selections. He had multiple teams interested in his services. The fall from competent reliever to released-after-one-appearance has played out in less than three years.
For the Rays, the decision was pragmatic. Tampa Bay does not carry passengers. The pitching staff is built around younger arms that need development reps. Kimbrel could not give them what they needed, and they have other options. The release reflects organizational discipline more than any rejection of Kimbrel as a person.
The bigger question is what comes next. Kimbrel is going to get one more look from somebody, almost certainly. Independent league, Triple-A invite, late-season call up from a contender looking for veteran bullpen depth. There is always a team willing to take a flier on a name brand.
Whether Kimbrel takes any of those offers is up to him. He has earned over $130 million in his career. He has a wife and kids. He has nothing left to prove on a baseball field. Most pitchers in his situation would already have walked away.
Kimbrel is not most pitchers. The fire that made him a nine-time All-Star is what is keeping him on the bump even when his arm is telling him it is time. That is admirable in some ways. It is also painful to watch.
The Cooperstown case for Craig Kimbrel is already complete. 440 saves, nine All-Star selections, a World Series ring with the 2018 Red Sox. He is going to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot eligibility he gets. The next few months of his career, whatever they look like, will not change that.
That should be enough for him to walk away. The fastball is gone. The curveball is fading. The opportunities are running out. Sometimes the hardest pitch a closer ever has to throw is the last one. Kimbrel might want to start thinking about it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
