Nine-time MLB All-Star Craig Kimbrel has a new home. Kimbrel will sign with the American League’s Baltimore Orioles, according to news emerging on Wednesday.
Kimbrel reportedly signed a short-term, one-year contract with the Orioles according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“Right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel and the Baltimore Orioles are in agreement on a one-year, $13 million contract,” Passan reported.
Passan posted the news and the terms on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
Right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel and the Baltimore Orioles are in agreement on a one-year, $13 million contract, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 6, 2023
The Orioles are the eighth team that Kimbrel has played for since his career began in 2010. He first started with the Atlanta Braves, with whom he won National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2011. After five seasons in Atlanta, he joined the San Diego Padres for one season before going to the Boston Red Sox.
With the Red Sox, Kimbrel won the 2018 World Series. It is thus far the only World Series championship in his career. He’s spent time with the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Philadelphia Phillies since departing the Red Sox after 2018.
So, he returns to the American League East to help fill a hole that the Orioles currently have. Felix Bautista is scheduled to miss the entire 2024 MLB season. Signing Kimbrel adds experience, depth, and a strong arm on the mound in place of Bautista.
