Meet Craig Kimbrel

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Newest Met on a minor- league deal!

Depth for sure.

[metirish]

I would have guessed he was retired

[Frayed Knot]

KIMBREL!!

 

 

 

[Edgy MD]

He'll give the other bullpenners in camp a thrill.

[Fman99]

He had good MLB numbers last year albeit a small sample (2.25 ERA in 14 IP).

Here's hoping for the dead cat bounce with this guy

[Lefty Specialist]

No-risk signing. Anything he can give you is a bonus.

[Edgy MD]

Should we hope that there is still power there, or is that long gone, and we are just hoping for 45 highly curated innings of guile like the late-stage version of Jason Isringhausen they got back in 2011?

[metirish]

Wow , hard to believe the feel good Izzy story was 15 years ago

[Cowtipper]

I like this one a lot, just because it's always cool to have an older established big name/potential future Hall of Famer on the team (as opposed to a younger one like Lindor/Soto). It's just cool to look back and see that X player played for the Mets. Kinda like when Jose Bautista, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Gary Sheffield and Bobby Abreu played for them. Also Willie Mays, obviously, but I was -17 years old at the time, so I wasn't alive to see it.

Kimbrel still has the skills and it's kind of lame he only got into 14 games last year, because he was excellent in the minors. Even after his career declined beginning in 2019, he still managed a 12.9 K/9 and 1.204 WHIP. He's been inconsistent, but when he's on, he's on. With the addition of Kimbrel, the bullpen is actually looking pretty deep.

[The Hot Corner]

Nice low risk signing, with potential for significant upside. Hopefully, he can regain some of his old form and give the Mets some solid innings.

If not, he could potentially be a good influence (hopefully) on the Mets young pitchers.

[Centerfield]

I have a hard time believing he has anything left. His WHIP was above 1.4 last year, despite the low ERA.

But you never know. He was good a few years ago for Philadelphia before falling off.

[Gwreck]

For what it’s worth, Britton/Sammon’s first opening day roster projection has Kimbrel making the team (remember that Minter will start the year on the IL).

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6998072/2026/01/26/mets-roster-projection-lineup-pitching-staff/

[smg58]

I like this. The error bars are huge, but if you get anything on the good side of the median it's a great value play. And if you don't, you lose nothing.

[Edgy MD]

Well, you could lose the time and innings you spend looking for something.

I mean, I amn't knocking the deal, but there is always another side to the calculus.

[metirish]

Per Heyman getting called up today 

[Edgy MD]

wOw.

Sadly, bullpenning ain't really where the leak is right now.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

They probably had to to beat an upcoming opt-out. 

[Frayed Knot]

They did.

[Gwreck]

Maybe Luis Garcia came down with a case of ineffective reliever syndrome and needs a short IL stint. 

[Frayed Knot]

Now we just have to hope that Craig Kimbrel isn't meat.

[MFS62]

The other shoe dropped. They DFA Lovelady.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Since Kimbrel is a likely future HoF'er and has now appeared in a NYM uniform, how soon until they retire his number?

[Cowtipper]

My dream come true!