Atlanta Braves: last-ditch effort to sign Craig Kimbrel

Spring Training games are underway for the Atlanta Braves and Craig Kimbrel is still unsigned. We make a final attempt to land the closer.

There have been no indications that the Atlanta Braves have made any offers or even expressed interest in Craig Kimbrel. But we are fans, and we can’t help ourselves.

With a rumor coming out this week — which was said to be ‘utterly false’ by Kimbrel’s agent — that the closer was willing to sit out this season if his demands aren’t met, I think it’s time for the Braves to give Kimbrel some hope and love.

Early this offseason Kimbrel was looking for a six-year contract for around $100 million. Based on what he’s done in his career, you can understand why Kimbrel thinks his value is this high.

But he’s quickly finding out that teams are not willing to make that kind of investment in a free agent reliever.

The biggest contract given to any free agent reliever this year was a three-year $39 million deal given to Zack Britton by the New York Yankees. What’s interesting about that is that Britton has been injured over the past two seasons, but he still got big money.

Kimbrel seems to be getting passed on because of some shaky command issues at the end of a long 2018 season. But if you look at Kimbrel’s overall numbers, they are still elite.

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I wrote last week that I think we could be underestimating the Atlanta Braves bullpen, and I still think that’s true. The bullpen arms in place have the ability to be a top 10 bullpen, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t welcome a reunion with someone who could go down as the second most dominant closer of all-time.

The Atlanta Braves should help out the Alabama product and make him a solid contract offer that benefits both sides.

Despite his supposed struggles in the playoffs, I still think Kimbrel — who will play most of the 2019 season at 31 — will be a very good closer for four more seasons.

With that in mind, I think the Atlanta Braves should offer him a four-year deal worth $13 million a year with a vesting option for a fifth year at $15 million if he has 70 combined saves in 2021 and 2022 (the last two years of this proposed contract).

That’s a guaranteed $52 million, which isn’t close to the $100 million contract he was hoping for, but that’s the reality for the relief pitchers right now. And he has the chance to increase that value to $67 million.

That $13 million AAV matches what Britton got this year, but is well below the highest AAV for a relief pitcher, which Wade Davis has at $17.33 million.

I think this is a deal I would comfortable with as a Braves fan, and hopefully it would be enough to satisfy Craig Kimbrel. Now let’s hope the Atlanta Braves front office is reading this article and can get the deal done.