Keith Law:
The Orioles signed Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13 million deal, an uncharacteristic move for this front office given Kimbrel’s recent performance, as he’s barely been worth 2 fWAR total in the last two seasons and has become wilder and less proficient at missing bats in his mid-30s. (Phillies fans will probably tell you this is the worst signing in history.)
Kimbrel does still strike out a lot of batters, but he’s gone from hovering around 40 percent for most of his career to 31 percent over the last two seasons, without any improvement in his walk rate or how much hard contact he allows. He’s lost over 2 mph on his fastball since 2017 and much of the movement on his out-pitch breaking ball, although both were so good at his peak that they’re both still above-average pitches even with their respective declines. He’s got that big save total and the capital-C Closer tag, which still holds some sway in the market, but I didn’t expect this Orioles front office to pay any sort of premium for those things.
The Orioles were short a reliever with ace closer Félix Bautista out until 2025 after Tommy John surgery, and adding someone who will primarily work the ninth inning frees up Yennier Cano to work in higher-leverage spots earlier in games, but I don’t think this makes the Orioles much better, if at all, and takes up cash that they need to put towards the rotation.
