As the Atlanta Braves have been trying desperately to save their season, a franchise icon recently got caught in the undertow.
Craig Kimbrel, a nine-time All-Star closer who began his storied career by winning Rookie of the Year for the Braves in 2011, re-signed with the club on a minor-league deal at age 37. He spent the better part of two months pitching in Triple-A to get himself in game shape, and earlier this week, the Braves officially recalled him to join the big-league roster.
What seemed like a nice story quickly turned sour, though, as Kimbrel was designated for assignment on Saturday, the day after he was officially recalled, flew cross-country to join the team on the road, and pitched a scoreless inning against the San Francisco Giants.
Obviously, the Braves have to prioritize winning games, as their six-game losing streak has now dropped them to 27-36. But the fact that they treated Kimbrel as an expendable asset isn’t sitting well with some.
That includes Yahoo Sports reporter and analyst Jake Mintz, who tore into the Braves for their treatment of Kimbrel on Saturday.
“Here’s the thing about the Braves DFA’ing Kimbrel,” Mintz wrote. “Dude clearly doesn’t have it any more, but signing him, having him rehab for months and then cutting him after one MLB outing like he’s some random interchangeable up-down guy and not a franchise icon is so… weird.”
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“If you needed a dude to eat an inning, pick up someone on waivers. If you thought Kimbrel still might have it and then realized via MiLB data/performance that he is cooked, why call him up to be a meat shield for 24 hours while you’re on the road.”
Kimbrel had a 2.00 ERA in 18 innings this spring for Triple-A Gwinnett. He looked shaky on Friday night, throwing 92 miles per hour and struggling to find his breaking ball, but Mintz is correct to insinuate that Atlanta easily could have found someone else to throw that inning.
The coming days will determine Kimbrel’s future, both in Atlanta and in professional baseball as a whole. But one can’t help but question the way the Braves handled this entire debacle.
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