Chicago Cubs aren’t getting Craig Kimbrel back quite yet

Although he is eligible to return from the 10-day IL Thursday, Chicago Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel is not yet ready to rejoin his teammates in the bullpen.

After watching Steve Cishek fall to pieces and cost the Chicago Cubs a chance at a critical win on Tuesday night, we’d all hoped Craig Kimbrel would be back to shore up the pen. Instead, we learned the closer will need more time to return from his right elbow issue.

"“He’s going to have to get out there and let her fly, for sure,” manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com on Tuesday. “It’s not just about playing catch or even going out there and making 10 throws off the mound. It’s got to be something legitimate. I wouldn’t put him in a game unless he felt he’s 100 percent well.”"

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

That doesn’t exactly sound encouraging. I mean, based on those comments, it doesn’t seem like Kimbrel is even close to coming back.

A tentative target seems to be this weekend when the Cubs return home to Wrigley Field. Then again, it’s hard telling given the right-hander hasn’t even started cranking it back up after hitting the shelf back on Sept. 1.

Even when he has been active, Kimbrel hasn’t looked like a potential Hall of Fame closer. He’s been sidelined twice in less than two months – once for a knee issue and now with elbow inflammation. What’s worse? He’s turned in some less-than-stellar outings in the meantime.

On the year, which admittedly didn’t feature much of a ramp-up period and no typical spring routine,  Kimbrel owns a 1.53 WHIP and 5.68 ERA in 21 appearances. Furthermore, he’s needed more pitches than ever before in his career to get through innings, averaging just over 19 per frame this year – well above his career mark of 16.8. 

The biggest difference this year has been the type of contact opponents are making against him. They’re slugging .554 this season – he’s never allowed a slugging percentage north of .306 prior to 2019. Of course, that’s a league-wide epidemic, with the seemingly unchanged (yeah, right) baseballs flying out of the yard with greater regularity than at any point in the game’s history.

So even if Kimbrel makes it back sooner rather than later, can Maddon have any real faith in the 31-year-old? Not in my eyes. Sure, he’s better than a lot of the options at his disposal now, but Kimbrel has been anything but shutdown as a Cub.

That’s not to say he won’t get back to what made him so highly regarded in recent years. But given his late-seasons struggles in Boston in 2018 and subsequent disappointment since joining Chicago mid-season, he could become a major drag on the bullpen and the payroll if he doesn’t turn it around.