According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Washington Nationals “maintain interest” in signing free agent closer Craig Kimbrel. He adds that the Atlanta Braves are “also exploring” a reunion with the righty. MLB Network‘s Jon Heyman has added that the Philadelphia Phillies remain interested, though are more inclined to bring either Kimbrel or left-handed starter Dallas Keuchel aboard on a short-term deal following their acquisition of generational talent Bryce Harper.
Kimbrel, 30, ranks as the fifth-best among MLB Trade Rumors‘ top 50 free agents, and currently stands as the second-best remaining option behind Keuchel, projecting him to earn a contract in the range of four years and $70MM.
Former Boston Red Sox teammate Brock Holt had told reporters yesterday that Kimbrel had received “zero offers” from Major League teams, with Jim Bowden of The Athletic reporting that the flamethrower had “not budged” from his original asking price of $100MM-plus over six years. Bowden added that Kimbrel has considered sitting out the 2019 season in protest, a statement that his agent has denied.
Kimbrel leads active closers with 333 career saves, a mark that currently stands at 14th all-time. He maintained his success in a World Series-winning 2018 with the Red Sox, as his 2.74 ERA and 13.9 strikeouts per nine innings can confirm.
However, a slightly diminished fastball (lost 1.2 mph last season while registering 4.7 runs above average – a 75% drop from his 2017 figure) as well as a lowly 28.2% groundball rate and 4.5 walks per nine may serve to explain (at least partially) why the market has failed to cooperate with Kimbrel’s desires.
