Atlanta Braves fans were lucky to experience prime Craig Kimbrel for five years. He was one of the best closers in baseball and quickly became one of the best in the franchise's history. That's why it hurt so badly when he was traded to the Padres days before the 2015 season began. It was an absolute gut punch. However, it was expected as the Braves decided to rebuild from the ground up.
During his time with the Braves, Kimbrel had an earth-shattering 1.43 ERA, 1.53 FIP, 12.1 WAR, 186 saves, and 477 strikeouts. He was absolutely dominant in a Braves uniform.
Since leaving Atlanta, Kimbrel has pitched for 11 teams. For the last nine years, Kimbrel has had to settle for one-year deals due to his struggles with injury and some regression. Fans hoped he'd be able to find some magic with the Braves again when he signed a minor league deal in 2025. Unfortunately, the team let him go after just one appearance with the big league club. It left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, even though it made sense at the time.
The twilight of Craig Kimbrel's career has not gone the way that anyone hoped
It's been hard to watch Kimbrel slip into mediocrity, but that's to be expected as he's lost his velocity. It's much easier for teams to sit on his lower-velocity fastball. That is partly why Kimbrel didn't record a save for two years.
Craig Kimbrel records his first save since July of 2024 👏
— MLB (@MLB) August 23, 2026
The @Royals have won 7 straight games! pic.twitter.com/ipKwnOKT3r
It took him until August 22nd with the Royals to earn his 441st career save. Despite the rough latter half of his MLB career, Kimbrel is fifth on the all-time saves list. He sits just behind Lee Smith, Kenley Jansen, Trevor Hoffman, and Mariano Rivera.
Kimbrel would need to record 37 more saves to tie Smith for 4th place. Considering it took him two years to earn number 441, it's unlikely he will reach that mark.
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