After a tough game, the Braves are turning to familiar faces for much-needed relief help.
According to various reports, Atlanta is bringing back Craig Kimbrel from Triple-A, marking his return to the team for a second time.
Kimbrel, who is 37, signed a minor league deal with the Braves this year and has performed well at Gwinnett, posting a 2.00 ERA and striking out 23 batters in 18 innings.
The Alabama native was drafted by the Braves in the third round back in 2008 and spent his initial five years in the MLB with the team, earning four All-Star selections during that period.
Recently, Kimbrel pitched for the Orioles, where he recorded a 5.33 ERA and had six blown saves in the 2024 season.
With 440 saves, he ranks second among active pitchers, and the Braves hope he can help their struggling bullpen after a particularly rough outing on Thursday.
In that game, they blew a substantial lead against the Diamondbacks, entering the ninth inning with a 10-4 advantage but ending up losing 11-10.
The collapse included four runs scored with the help of Scott Bruuette before the Braves switched to closer Raisel Iglesias.
“Six times in the ninth, I feel like we should’ve won that game,” Braves manager Brian Snitker shared with reporters. “It was a brutal loss, and now I’m stuck on a plane for five hours. Everyone’s feeling pretty low. We couldn’t pull it together.”
Snitker mentioned he plans to shake things up in the bullpen to improve the situation.
“We need to mix and match, giving everyone more chances,” Snitker stated. “That’s the plan moving forward.”
