History of Craig Kimbrel in Timeline
1986
On August 9, 2011, in a game versus the Florida Marlins, Kimbrel tied the National League rookie record for saves in a season (36 by Todd Worrell of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986). He broke that record on August 17 in a game versus the San Francisco Giants. On August 21, 2011, Kimbrel recorded his 100th strike out which coincided with his 39th save of the season and a string of 30+2⁄3 innings without yielding a run. On August 23, 2011, Kimbrel recorded his 40th save, tying the rookie save record of Neftalí Feliz. He subsequently broke this record with his 41st save on August 31 with two strikeouts in a game against the Washington Nationals. At the time, he led the majors in saves and had not given up a run in his last 34 innings. The following night, Kimbrel surpassed Cliff Lee's mark of 34 scoreless innings with 34+2⁄3 scoreless innings for the longest scoreless streak in the majors in 2011. He was named the NL Rookie of the Month and Delivery Man of the Month for August 2011. His scoreless inning streak came to an end after 38+1⁄3 innings, on September 9, 2011.
May 28, 1988
Craig Michael Kimbrel (born May 28, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Baltimore Orioles. He is a nine-time All-Star, two-time Reliever of the Year, and a 2018 World Series champion.
2007
Kimbrel attended Wallace State Community College. While at Wallace State in 2007, Kimbrel had an 8–0 win–loss record with a 1.99 earned run average (ERA) as a freshman in 2007, serving as the team's closer and a spot starter. In 2008, he was 9–3 with a 2.88 ERA, striking out 123 hitters in 81 innings pitched (for an elite rate of 13.67 K/9) mainly as a reliever.
2010
Kimbrel ended the season tied for the National League lead with 46 saves—surpassing the previous rookie record of 40, set by Feliz in 2010—and led major league relievers with 127 strikeouts in 77 innings.
May 15, 2010
Kimbrel got his first call-up from the Gwinnett Braves on May 15, 2010, to replace the injured Jair Jurrjens on the roster. He was called up for the second time in his career on June 4, 2010, to replace Takashi Saito, who was placed on the 15-day DL. He earned his first major league save on September 19, 2010, against the New York Mets. Kimbrel's record for the 2010 season was 4–0, with one save and a 0.44 ERA in .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}20+2⁄3 innings. He recorded 40 strikeouts and 16 walks. In the 2010 NLDS, he was the losing pitcher in Game 3 against the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.
2011
As a rookie with the Braves in 2011, Kimbrel was named their closer and set an MLB record for saves by a rookie, with 46. He was awarded the National League's (NL) 2011 Rookie of the Year Award. He led the NL in saves for four consecutive seasons (2011– 2014). He recorded his 200th save in June 2015 with the Padres, and his 300th save in May 2018 with the Red Sox, making him the youngest pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone. On May 26, 2023, Kimbrel became the eighth major-league pitcher to achieve 400 career saves.
April 21, 2011
Kimbrel made the roster to start the 2011 season as the team's primary closer. He was successful in his first four save opportunities before blowing his first career save on April 21, 2011. On June 3, 2011, in a game versus the New York Mets, Kimbrel passed the record for most saves by a National League rookie before the All-Star break. He is the fastest Braves pitcher to reach 100 career strikeouts, doing so in 59+1⁄3 career innings. His new record surpassed the previous record set by John Rocker in the 1998–1999 season, where it took Rocker 70 career innings to reach the 100 career strikeout mark. On July 5, his 26th save matched Jonathan Papelbon's record for most saves by a rookie before the All-Star break. On July 7, Kimbrel's 27th save of the year against the Colorado Rockies broke Papelbon's record.
July 22, 2011
On July 22, 2011, in a game versus the Cincinnati Reds, Kimbrel broke the Braves rookie record for saves in a season (31).
2012
Kimbrel again made the All-Star team in 2012. He struck out the two batters he faced. He won the Delivery Man of the Month Award for September 2012. On September 26, he struck out four batters in the ninth inning.
2012
Kimbrel married former Wallace State cheerleader Ashley Holt in 2012. They have two children. Their oldest, daughter Lydia Joy, was born November 3, 2017 with heart defects, and has undergone two surgeries.
2012
Kimbrel was named the closer for Team USA in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Despite not surrendering one lead-off double all year with the Braves in 2012, Kimbrel gave one up to Nelson Cruz of the Dominican Republic in their round two matchup. Kimbrel would go on to give up two runs in the game, and be the losing pitcher in Team USA's 3–1 loss to the eventual champions.
May 09, 2013
Kimbrel began the 2013 season with three blown saves during his first nine save opportunities, tying his personal record for blown saves during the entire 2012 season. Nonetheless, on May 9, 2013, in a game against the San Francisco Giants, Kimbrel earned his 100th save, making him the second youngest player in MLB history to reach that mark. With a save against the Cardinals on July 27, 2013, he became only the second Atlanta pitcher after John Smoltz to have three 30-save seasons. Kimbrel surpassed John Smoltz's Braves record of 27 consecutive saves on August 17, 2013.
February 16, 2014
On February 16, 2014, Kimbrel agreed to a four-year, $42 million extension with the Braves that ran through 2017, with an option for 2018. On April 2, Kimbrel tied Gene Garber's 141 saves with the Braves, good for second in franchise history. Two days later, on April 4, Kimbrel recorded his 142nd career save, to move into sole possession of second place. On April 25, 2014, Kimbrel became the fastest pitcher ever to reach 400 strikeouts—reaching the mark in 236 innings' worth of work. On June 6, 2014, Kimbrel recorded his 155th save in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, surpassing John Smoltz as the new franchise leader in saves. On August 29, 2014, Kimbrel recorded his 40th save of the season. He became the third pitcher to reach that single-season milestone in four straight seasons. Kimbrel finished the season with a 1.61 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 61+2⁄3 innings. He led the National League with 47 saves, becoming the first pitcher to lead the NL in saves for four consecutive seasons since Bruce Sutter (1979–82).
April 05, 2015
On April 5, 2015, Kimbrel was traded to the San Diego Padres along with outfielder Melvin Upton, Jr., in exchange for Carlos Quentin, Cameron Maybin, prospects Matt Wisler, Jordan Paroubeck, and the 41st overall pick in the 2015 MLB draft.
November 13, 2015
On November 13, 2015, the Padres traded Kimbrel to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Manuel Margot, Javy Guerra, Carlos Asuaje, and Logan Allen.
July 08, 2016
On July 8, 2016, Kimbrel injured his knee while taking warmups. The next day, an MRI revealed that there was a tear in the medial meniscus of the left knee. The injury required surgery, and three to six weeks to recover. He returned to the bullpen at the start of August.
May 11, 2017
On May 11, 2017, against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth inning on nine consecutive pitches, joining Pedro Martínez and Clay Buchholz as the only pitchers in franchise history to accomplish this feat, commonly referred to as an immaculate inning. Two weeks later, Kimbrel recorded a second four-strikeout inning while facing the Texas Rangers. Kimbrel was subsequently named AL Reliever of the Month for May.
May 05, 2018
On May 5, 2018, facing the Texas Rangers, Kimbrel recorded his 300th career save. He achieved this milestone in fewer games (494), fewer save opportunities (330), and at a younger age (29) than any other pitcher. On July 8, Kimbrel recorded his 27th save of the season, and was named to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game. For the 2018 regular season, Kimbrel recorded 42 saves in 63 appearances, pitching to a 2.74 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 62+1⁄3 innings.
June 07, 2019
On June 7, 2019, Kimbrel signed with the Chicago Cubs on a three-year contract, reportedly worth $43 million. On June 27, he was added to the Cubs' major league roster from the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, and recorded his first save of the season, against Atlanta. On August 5, 2019, he was placed on IL for a knee inflammation. On August 18, 2019, he was reactivated from the IL to help the Cubs beleaguered bullpen. He finished the year 0–4 with 13 saves and a 6.53 ERA in 23 games.
May 26, 2021
On May 26, 2021, Kimbrel advanced to 11th on the all time saves list after the Cubs beat the Pirates 4–1 at Pittsburgh. On June 24, 2021, Kimbrel pitched a combined no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers along with Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, and Andrew Chafin.
July 30, 2021
On July 30, 2021, the Cubs traded Kimbrel to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer. Out of the closer role, Kimbrel had a 5.09 ERA in 24 regular season games and a 9.00 ERA in three playoff games for the White Sox. On November 22, the White Sox exercised his $16 million option for the 2022 season.
April 01, 2022
On April 1, 2022, the White Sox traded Kimbrel to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for A. J. Pollock. He pitched in 63 games for the Dodgers and finished with a 6–7 record, 3.75 ERA and 22 saves. However, by the end of the season he had been removed from the closer role.
January 04, 2023
On January 4, 2023, Kimbrel signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He recorded his 400th career save on May 26, 2023, against the Atlanta Braves. In June, he pitched 13 innings in as many appearances, allowing only 1 run on 6 hits with 21 strikeouts and 5 saves, good for a 0.69 ERA, earning him NL Reliever of the Month honors.
December 06, 2023
On December 6, 2023, the Baltimore Orioles signed Kimbrel on a one-year, $13 million deal with a club option for the 2025 season. He made 57 appearances for Baltimore in 2024, compiling a 7–5 record and 5.33 ERA with 73 strikeouts and 23 saves. Kimbrel was designated for assignment on September 18, 2024, a day after he allowed six runs in the ninth inning against the San Francisco Giants. He was released by the Orioles organization on September 24.