Former Cubs closer signs with Royals while refusing to accept obvious ending

The Chicago Cubs mark the shift in Craig Kimbrel's career. The Cubs signed Kimbrel during the 2019 season, hoping that his arrival would solidify the backend of the bullpen. The first two years were disaster, considering Kimbrel sported an ERA over 5 in 2019 and 2020, and by the time he turned things around in 2021, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox.

Since then, the future Hall of Famer has become a journeyman for major league bullpens. He had stops with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, New York Mets, and Tampa Bay Rays.

Depending on the stop, Kimbrel was either outright bad, or had success that hinted that he was getting lucky and regression was around the corner. The impression has been that retirement is knocking on his door, but he's not ready to call it yet.

Kimbrel has signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals. Once Kimbrel makes an appearance for the Royals, it will mark the 12th team he's pitched for. Only four pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball have pitched for more teams, and two of them are also former Cubs pitchers. Edwin Jackson and Rich Hill each pitched for 14 different teams.

Craig Kimbrel has been on an unpredictable run since being traded by the Cubs

Kimbrel is far from the pitcher he was with the Cubs. While it took the Cubs multiple years to get him back on track, his fastball routinely sat in the upper-90s. In his most recent stop with the Rays, it was down to low-90s. He posted a 3.86 ERA in 19 appearances, but he was also walking over 12% of the hitters he faced.

Interestingly enough, had the Cubs not made the moves they did at the deadline, there would have been a case that Kimbrel could be part of the mix moving forward. After all, this is a Cubs team that previously took fliers on Liam Hendriks and Aaron Bummer.

That said, the Cubs aren't in a position where they should be that desperate. The pitching staff has reinforcements after the deadline, and there are a number of injured pitchers set to return in the weeks ahead. Suddenly, the Cubs are working through potentially having too much pitching, and that is never a bad problem to have.

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