Ex-Phillies pitcher agreed to a one-year contract with the Orioles

Although no financial specifics were published, sources told ESPN that Kimbrell’s contract is worth $13 million.

Craig Kimbrel, the closer for the Philadelphia Phillies, is on his way to Baltimore.

The veteran pitcher agreed to a one-year deal with the Orioles on Wednesday, with a club option for the 2025 season.

Although no financial specifics were published, sources told ESPN that Kimbrell’s contract is worth $13 million.

Baltimore has a requirement because After undergoing Tommy John surgery, All-Star closer Felix Bautista will most certainly miss the 2024 season. In August, he was placed on the injured list.

Kimbrel, 35, was a standout closer in the 2010s, appearing in seven All-Star games and amassing 332 saves – at least 68 more than anyone else – while pitching for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and Boston Red Sox from 2011 to 2018.

During that eight-year span, the right-hander had a 1.97 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, and a strikeout rate of 14.6 per nine innings with a deadly fastball-curveball mix. With the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies, he has a 3.57 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 13.0 strikeout rate.

From 2019 to 2023, Kimbrel was named to two more All-Star teams, including this past season with the Phillies, when he had a 3.26 ERA, saved 23 games, and struck out 94 batters in 69 regular-season innings.

Kimbrel’s absolute dominance in his 20s, on the other hand, has mostly eluded him in his 30s. In Philadelphia, he will be remembered for blowing a two-run lead in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, paving the way for the Phillies’ surprising defeat at the hands of the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks.

Last season, the Orioles won 101 games, a record in the American League. They won the AL East before being swept in the division series by the Texas Rangers. Many preseason forecasts saw them finishing toward the bottom of the division.