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Atlanta Braves: One month from possibly signing Craig Kimbrel – still needed?

By Jake Mastroianni

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 17: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Atlanta Braves leaves the bullpen to pitch in the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field on September 17, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 17: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Atlanta Braves leaves the bullpen to pitch in the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field on September 17, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 24: Craig  Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox Atlanta Braves celebrates his teams 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the 2018 World Series at Fenway Park on October 24, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 24: Craig  Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox Atlanta Braves celebrates his teams 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Two of the 2018 World Series at Fenway Park on October 24, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

With the 2019 MLB Draft set to take place June 3-5, the Atlanta Braves are a month away from possibly signing Craig Kimbrel.

It seems almost inevitable now that Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel will wait until after the 2019 MLB Draft to sign with a team. The question is whether or not the Atlanta Braves will still need either one of them at that point.

The answer for Keuchel is assuredly no.

I think the starting rotation for the Atlanta Braves is pretty set, and we have quality back-ups ready to step up should anyone go done.

And on top of that, it could take Keuchel a month to get ready before he would even pitch for the big league club.

But Kimbrel is still a very real possibility, and as I’ve said all along, until he actually signs with another team, I think the Atlanta Braves are the likely landing spot.

I won’t go into the details of why the Atlanta Braves want to wait until after the draft, or what the asking price could be. We’ve covered that plenty on this site already.

Related Story. Craig Kimbrel price drop. light

Not long ago I wrote that the Atlanta Braves can’t afford to wait on Craig Kimbrel.

At that time our bullpen was falling apart and it was costing us games. Games that could have been won if Kimbrel were on the team.

I still believe that, and I still think the Atlanta Braves were — and are — unwise to wait on Kimbrel.

The National League is super competitive this year, and making the playoffs could come down to a few games.

But things change quickly in baseball, and now the Braves bullpen actually looks pretty good.

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