After a long winter and almost half a season of waiting, the closer has signed a new contract. Craig Kimbrel has come to terms with the Chicago Cubs according to The Athletics’s Ken Rosenthal.
The Deal
The 31-year-old signed a three-year deal worth around $45 million according to Rosenthal.
Kimbrel had a solid regular season playing for the Red Sox last year. The now Chicago Cub struck out 96 batters and kept a low ERA for the most part (2.74). He also recorded 42 saves. Not everything was perfect, however, as pressure seemed to creep up on him once postseason baseball came around.
Can Craig Kimbrel Help Cubs?
It will probably take some time for Kimbrel to get used to day to day baseball action for the first week or so. Nonetheless, he will serve the Cubs well. The 2018 World Champ will take on the closer role in a bullpen that struggled to find a full time closer until now.
The Cubs have blown 11 out of 23 save opportunities, giving them a National League worst 52% save percentage. Only the Rockies (10) have less than the Cubs’ 12 saves. That is one of the reasons that the Brewers were able to catch them, and also why they slipped in our NL Power Rankings.