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Inside The Mets

Should the Mets Cut Ties with Craig Kimbrel?

A disastrous outing on Thursday very well could be the end of Craig Kimbrel's time in Flushing.
Joe Najarian|
Apr 28, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Apr 28, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

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New York Mets

The New York Mets' attempt to sweep the Colorado Rockies was foiled by an eighth-inning meltdown from Craig Kimbrel.

The long-time closer and potential Hall of Famer entered in a tied game and loaded the bases with nobody out on two singles and a walk. Kimbrel then surrendered a go-ahead grand slam to Rockies outfielder Jake McCarthy, which just stayed inside the right field foul pole after a brief review. Although the righty retired the next three batters (two by strikeout), the damage was done as Colorado won 6-2.

Kimbrel's rough day inflated his season ERA from 3.68 to 7.56. It is worth mentioning that six of the 37-year-old's nine outings were scoreless, but he allowed eight runs (seven earned) in the other three appearances. Regardless, with multiple relievers unavailable and starter Christian Scott being on a pitch limit, manager Carlos Mendoza had no choice but to use Kimbrel in a high-leverage situation.

Why the Mets Should Move On from Craig Kimbrel

Despite Thursday's implosion, Kimbrel still has rather good strikeout stuff. He has a 30% strikeout rate with 11 Ks in just 8.1 innings, and batters have whiffed at 29.1% of his pitches.

But at 37 years old, it doesn't seem like Kimbrel has too much left in the tank. With the Mets looking to get out of the deep hole they've dug themselves into early on, it would make more sense if Kimbrel's role was given to one of their young pitching prospects.

New York's farm system is full of intriguing arms. Many of their best ones like Jonah Tong, Jack Wenninger and Jonathan Santucci project to be starters, but perhaps bringing up one of them as a reliever could both fortify the Mets' bullpen and give the prospects some noteworthy major league experiences. If not, the Mets can still turn to a handful of pitchers who are major league ready but profile more as a reliever.

Perhaps the most notable example is Dylan Ross. The 25-year-old righty gained notoriety in 2025 for his fastball, which consistently reached triple digits on the radar gun. He also has a splitter and slider to combat lefties and righties, respectively. Ross has struggled with command at the Triple-A level, but the stuff he possesses is so good that he could develop into a prototypical strikeout reliever at the big league level.

28-year-old Jonathan Pintaro made his MLB debut last year on June 25 and struggled, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks. However, Pintaro has looked great with Triple-A Syracuse so far, with 25 strikeouts against nine walks and a 3.20 ERA in 10 appearances. He's logged 19.2 innings over those 10 games, so Pintaro can be used for multiple frames if needed.

Finally, Ryan Lambert is similar to Ross in that he struggles with command, but has an upper-90s fastball that generates a ton of swings and misses. The heater is so difficult to hit that it had a 38% whiff rate last season, and Lambert compliments it with a sharp-breaking slider. While the numbers in Triple-A this year are far from ideal (11 walks in just nine innings), the right-hander could very well earn a call-up if his command improves over the course of the year.

The common denominator with each of these pitchers is that they all have considerably higher upside than Kimbrel. And while it can be argued that they have a lower floor (given that they're still prospects), Thursday's meltdown against the Rockies is a clear sign that Kimbrel's own floor is already very low.

The Mets still have one of the worst records in baseball, and losing a winnable game against the Rockies doesn't help. Perhaps dipping into their pool of young, electric arms could give the team the jolt it needs, even if it comes at the expense of an established veteran like Kimbrel.

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Joe Najarian
JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian is the Deputy Editor and a writer for the New York Mets On SI site. He got his bachelor’s degree in journalism with a specialization in sports from Rutgers University, graduating in 2022. Joe has previously written for Jersey Sporting News and for the New York Giants On SI site. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @JoeNajarian

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