Craig Kimbrel Injury: Updates on Red Sox Closer's Knee and Return

Alec NathanJul 9, 2016

Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel was placed on the 15-day disabled list July 9 and had surgery on his left knee July 11. However, he has since been activated and is nearing a return to action.

Continue for updates.

Kimbrel Returns from DL

Monday, Aug. 1

Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reported Kimbrel has been activated from the 15-day disabled list, with Joe Kelly optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket to make room on the roster.

Kimbrel Comments on Recovery

Sunday, July 24

"It feels great. It feels like it's progressing each day and doing better and better," Kimbrel said, via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. "There's no pain. I'm just rebuilding strength and coordination, all that kind of stuff right now."

"Oh, absolutely," Kimbrel said when asked if he was still on target to return on time, per Drellich. "When they said I was going to have surgery, at the time I was three to six weeks (away). (We are) right on the three-week schedule."

Kimbrel's Surgery Details Revealed

Monday, July 11

The Red Sox announced Kimbrel "underwent a successful left knee arthroscopy and partial medial meniscectomy at Massachusetts General Hospital" on Monday.

Kimbrel Out 3-6 Weeks

Saturday, July 9

Kimbrel was ruled out Friday due to knee soreness, per the Boston Globe's Alex Speier. An MRI revealed the right-hander has a torn medial meniscus, according to MLB Roster Moves.

Red Sox Quick to Add Arm After Kimbrel Injury

The Red Sox announced July 9 they had acquired reliever Brad Ziegler from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for two minor league players.

Ziegler has never been a hard thrower, and at 36 years old, he isn't going to blow batters away consistently. But he had the repertoire necessary to hold down the fort while Kimbrel was on the shelf.

According to FanGraphs' August Fagerstrom, Ziegler's changeup "was the hardest pitch in all of baseball to lay off last year" because it spun out of the zone 85 percent of the time. Remarkably, opposing batters swung at those offerings 54 percent of the time.