Former Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel signed a minor-league deal Tuesday with the Texas Rangers, aiming for another shot at the majors.
The veteran right-hander became a free agent after the Atlanta Braves designated him for assignment on Saturday — just one day after he made his 2025 regular-season debut. In that outing, Kimbrel tossed a scoreless inning in a 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants, allowing one hit, striking out one, walking one, and giving up no runs. So what led to his release?/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67548383/452251432.jpg.0.jpg)
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, Kimbrel’s fastball velocity was down — averaging only 91.6 mph against the Giants. For comparison, he was throwing 93.2 mph in Triple-A before being called up, and he averaged a blazing 97.1 mph back in 2018 with the Red Sox.
Former Braves catcher and teammate Brian McCann questioned how much the velocity drop really mattered.
“I won’t speak for Craig, but he was on a cross-country flight that morning. Maybe his legs weren’t under him — I don’t know,” McCann told Rosenthal and Sammon. “Bottom line, he put up a zero. That’s all you can really ask for from a reliever.”
Kimbrel, who debuted in MLB in 2010 with Atlanta, ranks fifth all-time with 440 saves — a stat that McCann believes should’ve earned him more leeway.
“That move frustrated me, and it frustrated a lot of guys in the clubhouse,” McCann said. “It was odd to bring him up for one game and then DFA him. He’s not just some journeyman reliever. He’s a future Hall of Famer.”
Kimbrel’s legacy includes being the closer for Boston’s 2018 World Series championship team, their fourth title of the 21st century. Though effective, his postseason performance that year was rocky — he surrendered seven earned runs over 10 2/3 innings, ending with a 5.90 ERA across nine playoff appearances.