On the same day he officially signed with the Tampa Bay Rays, Craig Kimbrel made a scoreless pitching appearance against his former team.
That’s not saying much. One-third of MLB counts itself as a former Kimbrel employer.
On May 26, Kimbrel happened to be facing the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays are the 11th different team Kimbrel has called his own — three teams shy of the record, 14, shared by pitchers Rich Hill and Edwin Jackson.
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Kimbrel was designated for assignment by team No. 10, the New York Mets, on May 22. He began the season 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in 14 appearances.
In addition to the Rays, Mets, and Orioles (2024), Kimbrel has pitched for the Atlanta Braves (2010-14), San Diego Padres (2015), Boston Red Sox (2016-18), Chicago Cubs (2019-21), Chicago White Sox (2021), Los Angeles Dodgers (2022), Philadelphia Phillies (2023), Braves again (2025), and Houston Astros (2025).
Kimbrel spent the first five seasons of his career in Atlanta, making four All-Star teams and winning the 2011 National League Rookie of the Year award.
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For a time, Kimbrel was best known for a triple-digit fastball and the inexplicable decision by then-manager Fredi Gonzalez to leave him warming up in the bullpen in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the 2013 NL Division Series, while Dodgers veteran Juan Uribe hit the game-winning home run to clinch the series.
Kimbrel embarked on the journeyman portion of his career when he was traded with B.J. Upton to the San Diego Padres for five players.
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Along the way, Kimbrel continued to rack up saves. He began his Rays career with 440, fifth on MLB’s career list. But his last stint as a closer came with the Orioles in 2024. Since then he’s bounced between the majors and Triple-A, trying to live off a fastball that now averages a below-average 93.6 mph per Statcast.
Kimbrel’s days of challenging Mariano Rivera’s all-time saves record are over, if they ever began. But he still has another all-time record within his sights.
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