ATLANTA — Nine-time All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel is attempting to revive his career with the Atlanta Braves, his original team.
Kimbrel and catcher James McCann have agreed to minor league contracts, the team confirmed on Wednesday. Kimbrel will remain at the Braves spring training site when the season opens March 27, then will report to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Kimbrel, a 36-year-old right-hander, was released by the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 24 with a 5.33 ERA and six blown saves in 29 chances. The right-hander has pitched in 837 games and his 440 saves rank fifth. If added to the 40-man roster, he would get a $2 million salary while in the major leagues.
Atlanta is hoping to find the version of Kimbrel who posted a 2.80 ERA with all of his 23 saves and 53 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings before the All-Star break for the Orioles last season. Kimbrel faded after the break with a 10.59 ERA in 10 games.
“Hopefully he can replicate what he did the first half of last year,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday. “It would be awesome if he could come in and do that.
“Talking to some of the Baltimore guys, they thought he might make the All-Star team. Like I said, hopefully he can be one of those guys like I talked about three weeks ago, somebody could have a big influence on our team who’s not even in camp yet. That would be great if he was that guy.”
The Braves are set to open the season with 35-year-old right-hander Raisel Iglesias as their closer. Iglesias had 34 saves in 38 chances with a 1.95 ERA last season.
Kimbrel was drafted by the Braves in 2008 and made his major league debut in 2010. He led the National League in saves in four consecutive seasons, beginning with his 46 in 2011 when he was voted Rookie of the Year and capping that stretch with 47 in 2014. He set a career high with 50 saves in 2013.
Kimbrel also has pitched for San Diego, Boston, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia, where he made his last NL All-Star team in 2023.
Atlanta also confirmed a minor league contract with McCann, a 34-year-old who hit .234 with eight homers for the Orioles last year in the final season of a four-year, $40.6 million contract he signed with the New York Mets. If added to the 40-man roster, he would get a $1 million salary while in the major leaguers.
McCann was a 2019 AL All-Star with the Chicago White Sox. He made his major league debut with Detroit in 2014. He has a .241 career batting average in 11 seasons, including the 2021-22 seasons with the Mets.
The Braves released 38-year-old left-hander Jake Diekman, who had a 4.91 ERA over 7 1/3 innings in seven spring training appearances. Diekman, who had a 5.63 ERA with the Mets in 2024, was competing for a bullpen spot.
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