The pre-Christmas free agent signing flurry continues, with another reliever off the board: old friend Craig Kimbrel is headed east.
Kimbrel, after a rough go with the Dodgers, is headed to the Phillies:
One year and $10 million is juuuust about exactly what you would guess for a shot on Kimbrel at this point. Although I’ll say “good for him,” I wouldn’t have hated a Cubs-Kimbrel reunion. The Cubs were the last time to really get him right, and maybe they could’ve done it again. That said, the Cubs tend not to pay that kind of price tag for relievers these days, as they often get just as strong performances out of lower-dollar signings.
Kimbrel, 34, posted a 3.75 ERA for the Dodgers last year over 60.0 regular season innings, but his strikeout rate fell so far off a cliff – and his ill-timed control issues spiked – that he not only lost his closer’s job, but he was left off the Dodgers’ NLDS roster. The Phillies will try to get him right.