Craig Kimbrel Fantasy Stats

The New York Mets are calling up veteran right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel from the minors on Saturday, a source told Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Kimbrel began the year at Single-A St. Lucie after not winning a roster spot with the big-league club out of spring training. The 37-year-old veteran will get the call back to the majors after throwing two scoreless innings with two strikeouts for St. Lucie, but he'll likely operate in more of a middle-relief role in Queens for as long as he sticks around with the Mets. The 16-year veteran has 440 career saves and nine All-Star selections, giving the Mets plenty of experience out of their bullpen. He's no longer the dominant relief arm that he once was, though. In 14 appearances in 2025 with the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros, Kimbrel had a 2.25 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, no saves, and a 17:7 K:BB in just 12 innings pitched.

Veteran relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel has been told he will not be on the New York Mets' Opening Day roster, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. Kimbrel signed a minor league deal with New York over the offseason in hopes of earning a role in the team's bullpen, but it appears he will start the year on the outside looking in. Across six appearances this spring, the 37-year-old recorded a 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and five strikeouts. While Kimbrel has extensive experience as a high-leverage reliever, command has become an issue for him in recent seasons. He posted a 14.3% walk rate across a limited 12-inning sample size in 2025 and a 13.4% walk rate across 52 1/3 innings in 2024. Kimbrel's closing experience makes him a candidate to earn some ninth-inning work wherever he lands, but he profiles better in middle relief at this point in his career.

The New York Mets have signed free-agent relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training. It feels odd seeing Kimbrel sign a deal with a team that already has an established late-inning option. Kimbrel is one of the most successful relievers of all time with 440 career saves, which puts him fifth on the leaderboard. The 37-year-old isn't the same pitcher who earned four straight All-Star appearances. Kimbrel can still be a viable option in the bullpen, and his veteran presence and leadership alone are enough to sign him to an MLB deal. He most recently posted a 2.25 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and 17/7 K/BB ratio across 14 games with the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros in 2025. The expectation is that Kimbrel could serve as a late-inning option with occasional save chances when Devin Williams needs a breather. That's assuming Kimbrel makes the team, as he'll need to compete for a roster spot during camp.

Veteran free-agent reliever Craig Kimbrel is signing an undisclosed deal with the Houston Astros on Thursday and will be joining the major-league roster, a source tells Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Texas Rangers granted Kimbrel his release on Thursday, and it didn't take long for the 37-year-old veteran to find a new team to pitch for down the stretch in 2025. He has only thrown one innning in the big leagues this year with the Atlanta Braves, and there's no guarantee he'll stick around with the Astros through the end of the season. But with left-handed closer Josh Hader (shoulder) expected to miss the the rest of the regular season, the Astros are turning to a veteran with 440 career saves for some depth for their bullpen. At best, Kimbrel might be a late-inning arm for Houston, and Bryan Abreu remains the best bet for saves the rest of the way.

Veteran right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel signed a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers on Tuesday, a source tells The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. The Atlanta Braves recently recalled Kimbrel up from the minors but then designated him for assignment after just one appearance out of their bullpen. He elected free agency and has quickly latched on with another team. The 37-year-old will likely start at Triple-A Round Rock, but there's a good chance he'll find his way back to the big leagues before long in some sort of high-leverage setup role. Kimbrel held a nice 2.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, three saves, 23 strikeouts and nine walks in 18 relief innings with Double-A Columbus and Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves organization. The nine-time All-Star has saved 440 games in his 16-year MLB career, but he faces an uphill battle to get back into fantasy relevance the rest of the 2025 season.

The Atlanta Braves announced on Saturday that they designated right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel for assignment and recalled left-hander Austin Cox from the minors in a corresponding move. Well, that didn't last long. The Braves shook up their bullpen after a meltdown in Thursday's loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks and brought Kimbrel back to the big leagues. He made his first appearance with the Braves since the end of the 2014 regular season on Friday night and tossed a scoreless inning in the extra-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants. If Kimbrel passes through waivers, which is likely, he can either accept an outright assignment back to Triple-A Gwinnett or try to sign with another club as a free agent. The nine-time All-Star has 440 career saves in 15 big-league seasons, but his velocity has fallen considerably in recent years, and he's unlikely to get another extended high-leverage role.

After the Atlanta Braves' ninth-inning collapse in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Thursday's series finale in which the bullpen gave up seven runs to lose in the ninth inning, the Braves are calling up veteran right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel from Triple-A Gwinnett, sources tell The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. The 37-year-old Kimbrel returned to the Braves on a minor-league deal after spending the first five seasons of his career in Atlanta. In 15 relief appearances for the Stripers before his call-up, Kimbrel held a 2.45 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 17 strikeouts and eight walks in 14 2/3 frames. The nine-time All-Star and former National League Rookie of the Year has 440 career saves in 15 big-league seasons, but he's unlikely to unseat Raisel Iglesias as the Braves' closer. However, he could be used in a high-leverage relief role and pick up some holds as a late-inning setup man.

According to Justin Toscano, a beat writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Braves right-hander Craig Kimbrel was assigned to Double-A Columbus on Monday. The Braves had signed Kimbrel to a minor-league deal, and he has spent that time ramping up at the team's complex in Florida, but he has yet to face any hitters. The assignment to Double-A suggests that Kimbrel and the Braves are taking the next step, hoping he still has something left in the tank and will help the Braves' bullpen in 2025. The 36-year-old struggled with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP, but he is still considered a future Hall of Famer and respected by many in the baseball community. Fantasy managers can continue to monitor his progress, as Kimbrel could hold value as a high-leverage reliever for the Braves. Still, Raisel Iglesias will likely continue to get the save opportunities, if and when Kimbrel arrives.

The Atlanta Braves have signed relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel to a minor-league deal on Tuesday. The future Hall-of-Famer is back with the Braves after spending the first five seasons of his career with the organization. Since then, Kimbrel has bounced around quite a bit, but currently sits fifth all-time in saves. He's coming off a rough year with the Baltimore Orioles last season. He registered a 5.33 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, with 23 saves in 57 appearances with the O's in 2024. Kimbrel figures to pitch in a high-leverage spot behind Raisel Iglesias in Atlanta. He should see the occasional save chances, but probably won't offer reliable fantasy value while Iglesias is healthy.

The Baltimore Orioles announced on Tuesday that they released veteran right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel after recently designating him for assignment. Kimbrel opened the 2024 season as the Orioles' closer and saved 23 games for the second straight season, but the nine-time All-Star also struggled to a 5.33 ERA (4.18 FIP) and a 1.36 WHIP with 73 strikeouts and 31 walks in 52 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Since the All-Star break, he posted an 11.50 ERA (7.44 FIP) with 21 strikeouts and 17 walks in 18 innings over 19 appearances to convince the Orioles to move on. The 15-year MLB veteran is 36 years old and is nearing the end of his career, but he should be able to latch on with another organization for the 2025 campaign if he wants to continue pitching. At this point, though, it's unlikely that Kimbrel will be used as a primary closer if he continues his career.