Craig Kimbrel Reportedly Signs Astros Contract After Being Granted Release By Rangers

The Houston Astros are signing right-handed relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The report dropped after soon after news emerged that the Texas Rangers granted Kimbrel his release from their Triple-A team, the Round Rock Express.

Kimbrel was also with the Atlanta Braves earlier this year, making 18 appearances for Double-A Columbus and Triple-A Gwinnett and posting a 2.00 ERA with 23 strikeouts over 18 innings.

Atlanta called Kimbrel up in June, and he pitched one scoreless inning for the big league club. However, he was designated for assignment the next day. Kimbrel elected for free agency before Texas signed him to a minor league deal.

Kimbrel posted a 3.86 ERA (1.14 WHIP) over 24 games for Triple-A Round Rock, striking out 28 batters over 21 innings.

The 37-year-old Kimbrel joined the big leagues in 2010 with the Atlanta Braves. He's largely been fantastic over a 16-year career, accumulating 440 saves and making the All-Star Game nine times. Kimbrel also won the 2018 World Series with the Boston Red Sox.

Kimbrel also has a career 2.59 ERA to his name with 1,266 strikeouts in 838 lifetime appearances.

His last prolonged stint didn't go particularly well for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024. Kimbrel finished that season with a 5.33 ERA in 57 games, including an 11.50 ERA in his last 19 contests. He was designated for assignment in September of that year.

Now he has a fresh start with the Astros, whose bullpen has been struggling for some time.

Chandler Rome of the Athletic painted a picture on where the team is at right now, especially with closer Josh Hader (left shoulder capsule sprain) currently on the injured list and expected out until late September, per MLB.com.

"Only four teams own a worse second-half bullpen ERA than the Astros: the Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies. Toronto is averaging 4.90 runs per game, expanding its relievers' margin for error. The Astros are not affording their bullpen a similar luxury, problematic in the wake of Josh Hader's shoulder injury."

So now the Astros turn to Kimbrel for some bullpen help. He joins the team amid a closely contested AL West race, with Houston up a game-and-a-half on the Seattle Mariners entering Thursday.