A breakdown of what happened:
The Orioles played the Giants on September 17th, 2024, and Kimbrel hadn’t pitched since September 9th when he gave up 2 runs in 1 inning pitched. The Giants had the lead, 4-0 over Baltimore heading into the top of the 9th inning. Craig Kimbrel came into the game after 4.2 scoreless innings pitched from Keegan Akin and Burch Smith. Kimbrel then proceeded to concede 3 hits, 2 walks, and 6 earned runs, en route to a 10-0 Orioles loss. Kimbrel has struggled as of late, having a 14.46 ERA since his appearance on August 16th, and a 10.59 ERA since the all star break.
Where do the Orioles go from here?
The Orioles have had a closer solution in Seranthony Dominguez since Kimbrel lost the closer role. However, who will the O’s have to take over as a low leverage reliever? Well, Bryan Baker has filled the role for now, but once postseason rosters shorten from September call-ups, the bullpen will likely be 8 arms; Seranthony Dominguez, Yennier Cano, Danny Coulombe, Gregory Soto, Jacob Webb, Cionel Perez, Matt Bowman, and Keegan Akin.
Kimbrel’s career
Kimbrel, 36, is a world series winner, 3x reliever of the year (1 Rolaids, 1 Hoffman, 1 Rivera), and a 9x all star. He has played for 8 teams, including 5 seasons with Atlanta, where he accumulated a 1.43 ERA. Kimbrel also accumulated 186 saves for Atlanta, the most all-time for the Braves franchise (per baseball almanac), 36th all-time in reliever WAR (wins above replacement) (per baseball reference), and 5th all-time in saves (per baseball reference).
