{"id":537263,"date":"2026-01-25T06:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T06:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/537263\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T06:22:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T06:22:17","slug":"craig-kimbrel-lands-minor-league-deal-with-mlb-camp-invite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/537263\/","title":{"rendered":"Craig Kimbrel lands minor league deal with MLB camp invite"},"content":{"rendered":"

Craig Kimbrel lands minor league deal with MLB camp invite<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The New York Mets<\/a> have made a number of high-profile moves in a busy offseason. After falling just short of a Wild Card berth in 2025, New York swung for the fences this winter. But before the team\u2019s flurry of acquisitions in late January, the Mets addressed the bullpen in the lead up to Edwin Diaz\u2019s departure<\/a> in free agency.<\/p>\n

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New York signed Devin Williams to a three-year contract<\/a> worth $51 million. The team then poached another Yankees reliever, landing Luke Weaver on a two-year, $22 million deal. And on Saturday, the Mets added a potential bullpen difference maker with a low-risk move<\/a> that could pay dividends.<\/p>\n

New York signed Craig Kimbrel<\/a> to a minor league deal, per the New York Post\u2019s Jon Heyman. The agreement between the Mets and the veteran reliever includes an invite to spring training, giving Kimbrel the chance to make the major league roster.<\/p>\n

Mets seek bullpen depth with Craig Kimbrel move\"Jerome<\/p>\n

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Kimbrel has put together a remarkable 16-year career that includes 440 saves (fifth all-time), nine All-Star Game nods and two Reliever of the Year Awards. While he\u2019s entering his age-38 season, there\u2019s reason to believe that he can contribute to the Mets\u2019 bullpen.<\/p>\n

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Kimbrel signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves last offseason. After a strong showing in Double- and Triple-A, Atlanta selected his contract. Kimbrel pitched well in his Braves debut<\/a>. But he was surprisingly designated for assignment the following day.<\/p>\n

The Texas Rangers added the veteran righty after he was released by Atlanta. But Texas soon moved on as well, allowing the Houston Astros to sign Kimbrel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite a high walk rate, Kimbrel posted solid stats in 2025. He had a 2.25 ERA, 197 ERA+ and 17 strikeouts in 12 innings between Atlanta and Houston. However, he did issue seven walks in 14 appearances, leading to an unsightly 1.417 WHIP.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the Mets\u2019 move comes with essentially no risk. If Kimbrel impresses during spring training and earns a roster spot, he\u2019ll make $2.5 million<\/a> for the season, per The Athletic\u2019s Will Sammon.<\/p>\n

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While Kimbrel\u2019s signing will get lost in headline-grabbing moves including the Mets\u2019 blockbuster trade for Freddy Peralta<\/a> and Bo Bichette\u2019s $126 million free agency deal, the low-key addition could provide important depth for New York\u2019s bullpen.<\/p>\n

Related: Where Mets pitcher Nolan McLean landed among top 2026 prospects<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Mets trade Cooper Criswell to Mariners after Freddy Peralta deal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Craig Kimbrel lands minor league deal with MLB camp invite appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[46,5,88,847,83,1087,753,54,107,11037,4,1690,61,69,142],"class_list":["post-537263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-baseball","tag-bo-bichette","tag-craig-kimbrel","tag-devin-williams","tag-edwin-diaz","tag-freddy-peralta","tag-houston-astros","tag-luke-weaver","tag-minor-league-deal","tag-mlb","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-mets","tag-texas-rangers","tag-yankees"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115954303513744065","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}