Former Braves Star Closer Craig Kimbrel Finds New Landing Spot

The former Atlanta Braves' closer has yet to find a long-term destination late in his career, but he found another taker

The once-dominant Braves closer will be pitching for yet another team | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

An Atlanta Braves legend isn’t done yet. The Tampa Bay Rays have reportedly signed Craig Kimbrel to a minor league contract. MLB insider for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal, was the first to report it.

Kimbrel started the season back in the National League East with the Mets organization. After he was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A, he elected free agency.

He pitched in 14 games for the Braves' rival, finishing with a 6.00 ERA. He last pitched for them on May 20 against the Washington Nationals. He allowed two runs over 2 2/3 innings pitched.

As with each recent departure from a team, the question arose about whether he is truly done. The Rays feel he has something to offer, so not so fast.

It's an organization that's quite familiar with him at this point. He was in the American League East with the Boston Red Sox from 2016 to 2018, winning a World Series with them in his final season with the team.

Kimbrel last appeared with the Braves last season. He signed a minor league contract late in spring training, and then he spent the early months of last season building up in Double-A and Triple-A.

The big reunion arrived when the Braves were out in San Francisco on June 6. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out a batter. It proved to be the only outing for the team that he represented in the All-Star Game four times back in the day.

He was designated for assignment after all of that. The Astros gave him a shot later in the 2025 season.

During his initial run with the Braves from 2010 to 2014, he posted a 1.43 ERA, 186 saves and struck out 476 batters over 294 games. That saves total has climbed to 440 in his career, ranking fifth all-time.

That reputation still holds some weight.

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