Craig Kimbrel’s trademark DeLorean-type stance on the mound will be coming to the Houston Astros down the stretch. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
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Craig Kimbrel hopes the fill the ninth-inning vacuum created when Houston lost Josh Hader.
Though hampered by advancing age and declining ability, Kimbrel has two incentives: helping the Astros win a world championship and continuing his march toward 500 career saves.
A nine-time All-Star and four-time National League saves leader, Kimbrel has pitched for eight different teams – most recently the 2025 Atlanta Braves.
But the Braves, who signed him to a minor-league deal in March, gave him only a one-inning audition in the majors before releasing him.
Former Heat Fades
The 37-year-old right-hander, who broke in with Atlanta as NL Rookie of the Year in 2011, lacks his old velocity but compensates with a combination of guile and experience.
He still has a career average of 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings, compiled over a 16-year career. Kimbrel has 440 saves, 56 wins, and a 2.59 earned run average.
The diminutive Huntsville native spent most of his career in Atlanta but also pitched for the Red Sox, White Sox, Cubs, Phillies, Padres, Orioles, and Dodgers before joining the Astros.
Houston, locked into a tight race with Seattle for supremacy in the American League West this season, needs a veteran closer to fill the void created when Hader went down with a left shoulder capsule sprain. He is not expected back this season and is also questionable for the playoffs, according to Houston manager Joe Espada.
Craig Kimbrel brings 440 career saves to the Astros’ bullpen. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
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Known for raising his arms like a human DeLorean while peering in for his sign, Kimbrel has been prone to bouts of wildness. He also has surrendered 73 home runs – including 10 in one season.
This year, he began working his way back to the majors with Double-A Columbus, a Braves farm team, pitching three innings without yielding a hit. At Triple-A Gwinnett, he fanned 23 hitters in 18 innings while posting a 1-1 record and 2.00 earned run average.
One-Inning Trial
That earned him a promotion to Atlanta in June. In the one inning he worked, he yielded a hit and a walk but no runs against the San Francisco Giants. Even though the team was having bullpen troubles at the time, Kimbrel was released the next day.
Salary might have been the reason: Kimbrel’s contract called for $1,000,000 (or a pro-rated portion of it) if he pitched in the major leagues. His peak salary was $16 million, first reached with the Chicago Cubs in 2020.
The Astros entered the weekend with a 70-58 record and two-game lead over the Mariners. But both teams have been under .500 over their last 10 games.
Houston hopes Kimbrel, who won a world championship with the 2018 Boston Red Sox, will help reverse that trend.