He took the loss in his first appearance as the Red Sox’ closer at Fenway Park on Monday, but Craig Kimbrel bounced back. The 27-year-old has made a career of forgetting what has happened in the past.
Kimbrel, who struck out the side Wednesday for his first save at Fenway in the Sox’ 4-2 win over the Orioles, has won an array of awards during a career in which his name has been splashed across the history books, all before his 28th birthday. He set the record for most saves by a rookie with 46 while on the Braves in 2011. And he entered the 2016 season with the best ERA in MLB history (1.63).
Asked about his accomplishments on the Herald’s new Red Sox podcast, Stepping Off The Bag, Kimbrel offered a unique perspective.
“Anytime anybody asks me questions about what I’ve done, all I can say is, it’s what I did, it’s not what I’m doing right now,” he said. “What I’ve done in the past isn’t going to carry over into this season or into my next game. It’s great I was able to do that but that’s not going to help me go out there and get three outs or however many outs I’m asked to get.”
While with the Braves from 2011 through 2014, Kimbrel finished in the top-10 in Cy Young voting each season and finished in the top-10 in MVP voting once, when he had a 1.01 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 62.2 innings in 2012.
It was an almost-perfect season, but Kimbrel finished eighth in the MVP vote. Should pitchers garner more consideration for the MVP?
“Absolutely, it’s the most valuable player, not most valuable position player,” Kimbrel said. “Pitches are players too. If you’re a pitcher and have a great year and you’re most valuable player in the league then absolutely you should be able to win.”
For more from Kimbrel, and for a conversation about the Red Sox from the Herald’s beat writers, tune in to the Stepping Off The Bag podcast below:
News•
on November 18th, 2015•
BOSTON — The Red Sox acquired an electric, four-time All-Star closer in Craig Kimbrel on Friday night, sending four prospects to the San Diego Padres.
Dave Dombrowski’s first major acquisition since being hired by the Red Sox as president of baseball operations in August was a doozy, one that paves the way for a bullpen that could dominate in the late innings.
Koji Uehara, the club’s closer the last three seasons, will move to the eighth inning. Junichi Tazawa, one of the top setup men in the game the last couple of years, will be responsible for the seventh.
And Kimbrel, smack in the middle of his prime at 27 years old, will be there to finish. The Red Sox have Kimbrel under their contractual control for the next three seasons.
“When we look at Craig, we look at him as a premium closer, and there are various names out there, but [Kimbrel is] one of the best in the game of baseball,” said Dombrowski. “I think the key for us is we had identified some guys that stood above the rest, as far as the ability to close. We thought the ability to get one of those guys was extremely important.”
To acquire Kimbrel, Dombrowski parted with outfielder Manuel Margot, shortstop Javier Guerra, infielder Carlos Asuaje and lefty Logan Allen.
• Trade analysis
Margot was ranked third among Red Sox prospects by MLB.com, and Guerra was rated sixth. Margot was signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2011 out of the Dominican Republic and is known for his athleticism. Guerra, signed out of Panama in 2012, could emerge into a star on defense at a key position. Allen was drafted by the Red Sox in the eighth round back in June.
“You don’t ever like to give up young talent,” Dombrowski said. “We think they’re very talented individuals. We do have some depth at those positions.”
• Red Sox top prospects
Dombrowski liked the fact he didn’t have to give up any Major League talent.
Kimbrel, who was traded from the Braves to the Padres the day before the 2015 season started, is looking forward to the opportunity to get acclimated to his new team this time around.
“I’m excited,” said Kimbrel. “With the history and the fans in Boston, the atmosphere is always awesome every time I’ve been there. You can feel the history and everything behind it there. To be able to play in front of those fans is going to be a lot of fun.”
Red Sox manager John Farrell called Uehara before the trade was officially announced, and the righty once again exemplified the team-first attitude he’s been known for throughout his career. Uehara, who threw the final pitch of the 2013 World Series for the Red Sox, will be 41 at the start of next season.
“John made sure to reach out to Koji and spoke to him tonight already, and he said he was really good with the change of role and that all he wants to do is pitch in the World Series again,” said Dombrowski. “He basically said, ‘You don’t have to worry about me, I’ll pitch whenever you’re asked to.'”
Now that Kimbrel is in the fold, Dombrowski can look for depth in the bullpen from here on out, and try to sign an ace starter on the free-agent market.
“I think this is enough of a major move that we need to make,” said Dombrowski. “Because when you shift Koji into the eighth and Tazawa into the seventh, that’s significant. I can’t say we won’t do some tweaking as time goes on, I’m not really sure about that, but I think with the major moves, this is a big step for us and probably the major step we look to make at this point.”
Though no closer is automatic, Kimbrel often comes close. Since the start of his first full season in 2011, Kimbrel leads Major Leaguers in saves (224), ranks second in ERA (1.70), strikeouts (523), strikeouts-per-nine innings (14.37), and save percentage (90.7); is third in WHIP (0.91) and opponents’ batting average (.160); and is fourth in hits allowed per nine innings (5.05).
The righty has converted 225 of 248 save opportunities, good for a 90.7 percent conversion rate that ranks second all-time in MLB history among relievers with at least 200 save chacnces.
Back on June 8, Kimbrel recorded his 200th save in his 318th career game, becoming the fastest reliever in history to reach that plateau.
The Red Sox also had been looking into Reds closer Aroldis Chapman. However, Chapman is eligible for free agency at the end of ’16. The Red Sox will pay Kimbrel $11 million next season, $13 million in 2017, and they hold a club option worth $13 million in ’18.
Kimbrel was 4-2 with 39 saves and a 2.58 ERA in 61 appearances (59 1/3 innings) for the Padres in 2015. He notched 87 strikeouts for a 13.20 strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio, the third highest among all NL relievers (5th best in MLB), and the highest single-season mark in team history for a Padres reliever.
“Moving to the American League, I’m excited,” said Kimbrel. “It’s a league with big bats, and as a pitcher, you want that opportunity to be able to face those big bats. It’s a challenge, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Fantasy spin | Fred Zinkie (@FredZinkieMLB)
With a 1.70 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP since the start of 2011, Kimbrel is arguably the safest fantasy closer. The right-hander faltered slightly last season, but a down year for Kimbrel consisted of a 2.58 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. With the Red Sox, he should be a source of elite ratios and roughly 40 saves.
Kimbrel’s arrival squashes the fantasy value for deposed stopper Koji Uehara. The 40-year-old righty would have been a solid No. 2 closer in mixed leagues for 2016, but he will now stay on waivers in most formats. With a lifetime 2.42 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP, he can still be a strong source of ratios for deep-league owners.
In San Diego, Kevin Quackenbush and Brandon Maurer have the best chance among those on the current roster to earn 2016 save chances. But given the Padres’ active track record in the past 12 months, it seems likely that their bullpen could undergo additional changes in the coming weeks.
Padres’ players lined the rail of their dugout Tuesday night to catch the first glimpse of their latest teammate.
Few were seeing Craig Kimbrel for the first time. But everyone was seeing Kimbrel as a Padre for the first time.
And his debut was short and sweet — even if his new teammates denied him the opportunity of getting a save by scoring four times against the Dodgers’ bullpen in the top of the ninth.
Kimbrel threw 16 pitches — 10 were for strikes. He struck out all three Dodgers he faced — Andre Ethier, Joc Pederson and Justin Turner. All three went down swinging. Actually, they went down flailing.
Kimbrel has a devastating combination for a relief pitcher. His fastball hits 97-98 mph on the radar gun … with movement. And his curve — more like a “slurve” cross between a curve and a hard slider — has so much late break that it looks like a dive bomber.
That combination might explain why the 26-year-old right-hander already has 185 saves over the past four seasons. By comparison, Trevor Hoffman didn’t record his 185th save until late in his 30th year.
Kimbrel has a 1.43 ERA in 295 games. He has struck out 479 of the 1,130 batters he has faced — meaning he has struck out 42.4 percent of all the Major League hitters he has faced at an average of 14.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
But that’s not the most incredible stat regarding Kimbrel, whom the Padres acquired from the Atlanta Braves on the eve of the season opener.
Rival hitters are hitting .152 against Kimbrel since his Major League debut on May 7, 2010. Last year they hit .142. Less than a runner an inning has reached base against Kimbrel over the course of his career.
It’s not often that a team has the best player in the Major Leagues at his position.
And that’s exactly what the Padres have with Kimbrel.
