MINNEAPOLIS -- The Rangers have signed right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel to a Minor League deal, the team announced on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old pitcher was designated for assignment on June 7 after throwing just one scoreless inning for the Braves this season. Kimbrel signed a Minor League deal with the Braves at the end of Spring Training and spent most of the first two months of the regular season building up in the Minors.
He pitched a scoreless seventh inning on Friday night for Atlanta, with his sinker touching 92.8 mph and averaging 91.6 mph.
Kimbrel was the 2011 National League Rookie of the Year during his first stint with the Braves and has nine All-Star appearances in his 16-year MLB career. During that time, he’s collected 440 saves with a 2.59 ERA.
Though his last All-Star appearance in 2023 saw him pitch to a 3.26 ERA in Philadelphia, he struggled to a 5.33 ERA in Baltimore in ‘24, which led to him getting designated for assignment in September of that year.
Kimbrel obviously isn’t quite what he once was, but it’s a low-risk, high-reward signing for the Rangers, whose bullpen currently ranks seventh in the American League with a 3.56 ERA.