BALTIMORE — The Orioles have successfully replaced their American League Reliever of the Year with a future Hall of Famer - a guy O’s general manger Mike Elias calls “One of the best closers in baseball history”.
Craig Kimbrel now a member of the Birds.
That patented pre-pitch bend at the waist, arms raised and bent at the elbow. The stare down and the strikeout. It’s all coming to Baltimore along with 417 career saves.
"I want to win and the Orioles want to win. We want to go deep into the playoffs. It’s the same thing that I want. So, when you see those commonalities it just makes a lot of sense," said the new Orioles pitcher.
The veteran closer signed with the O’s on Wednesday night. It’s a one-year contract, worth a reported $13 million, with a club option for 2025.
"They want to win and they want to win now and I don’t know how many more years I got to do this and go out there and sling the ball. I want to be part of a winner," said Kimbrel via a zoom call from his home outside Nashville, Tenn.
The 35-year-old is a nine-time all-star and eighth all-time in saves. He had 23 last season for the Phillies.
"He has still got a lot in the tank and he had a really solid season last year and we see a lot of things, from a scouting perspective going forward, that has us placing a pretty big bet that this guy is going to have a really good season for us," said Elias.
Elias and the O’s need Kimbrel because of the elbow injury to Felix Bautista, who will miss all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Kimbrel says it will be hard to replace Bautista. His job is to make sure the Birds don’t miss a beat in the ninth inning.
"To come in and to fill those shoes and keep this team on a good roll, I fully expect to do that," he said. "That’s why I signed here. It’s what I’ve been doing my whole career. I think that’s part of the reason the Orioles wanted me to come in here and just keep the train rolling, keep the wheels going. That’s what I’m coming in to do."
Kimbrel said he lives down the road from James McCann. He plans on working with the Orioles backup catcher to get a head start on spring training.
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