MLB Rumors: Craig Kimbrel, Orioles Agree to 1-year $13M Contract After Phillies Stint

As Félix Bautista rehabs his elbow after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October, the Baltimore Orioles need to find a closer for the 2024 season.

Craig Kimbrel agreed to a one-year, $13 million contract on Wednesday, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported Baltimore were "seriously engaged" with Kimbrel.

The Orioles haven't formally ruled Bautista out for the 2024 season, but they did sign him to a two-year contract in September that covers one pre-arbitration year and his first arbitration season in 2025.

Jeff Passan of ESPN noted Kimbrel will be the favorite to close games for Baltimore with Bautista set to miss an extended period, but noted Yennier Cano would be in the mix for high-leverage innings as well.

Bautista was arguably the most dominant closer in Major League Baseball last season. He finished with 33 saves, 30 hits allowed and 110 strikeouts in 61 innings across 56 total appearances.

There was some hope Bautista would be able to avoid Tommy John surgery when his elbow initially started to flare up. He was originally placed on the injured list on Aug. 26 with what general manager Mike Elias called "some degree of injury" to his UCL.

"It's less than 24 hours now and that's all I've got," Elias said. "He's going on the IL. We don't have a plan beyond that. We have not firmed up any kind of timetable or anything of that nature"

The elbow got to a point where Bautista needed to undergo reconstruction surgery. His absence was felt in the playoffs when the Baltimore bullpen allowed seven earned runs in three games to the Texas Rangers in the ALDS.

Kimbrel has also been volatile in the postseason at this stage of his career, but he's remained effective during the regular season. The nine-time All-Star had a 3.26 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 69 innings with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023.

If the Orioles work out an agreement with Kimbrel, they could make him their closer and use Yennier Cano as the primary setup man. Cano could also handle ninth-inning duties, with Kimbrel coming in earlier in games.

Expectations are high in Baltimore for 2024 coming off a 101-win season and an AL East title for the first time nine years. Adding at least one reliever will help solve a problem the team had down the stretch this year.