The Baltimore Orioles have been scuffling lately and have all but squandered the AL East title in the second half due to inconsistent offense and repeated bullpen meltdowns.
The front office made a pair of roster moves on Wednesday to try to fix some of those bullpen issues, as one legend has unfortunately thrown his last pitch for the franchise.
The Orioles announced on X that the team is recalling right-handed pitcher Bryan Baker from Triple-A Norfolk and in a corresponding move, has designated closer Craig Kimbrel for assignment.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/01oGelj2Ty
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 18, 2024
Kimbrel was having a strong season for the O’s and had a 2.80 ERA and 23 saves in the first half, but since the All-Star break, he has fallen apart to the tune of a ghastly 10.59 ERA and 2.18 WHIP over 17 innings of work.
The final nail in the coffin came on Tuesday night when Kimbrel got smoked for six runs in 0.2 innings in a 10-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
Kimbrel gave up two runs to the Boston Red Sox on Monday and surrendered another on Saturday in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
At 36 years old, it’s fair to wonder what’s next for Kimbrel, who has now played for five teams in four years and proven that his control issues that have developed in recent years might not go away.
Baker has a 4.71 ERA in 17 games this season and pitched in 112 games over the 2022 and 2023 seasons for the O’s, so at least Baltimore is bringing in somebody familiar to fill in for Kimbrel.
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