Craig Kimbrel has had a rough season as the Dodgers’ Closer
One of the biggest moves the White Sox made the last offseason was trading reliever, Craig Kimbrel to the Dodgers for outfielder, A.J. Pollock. Now that the 2022 season is almost over, how did both teams do in this transaction?
While Pollock’s numbers have taken a massive dip this year, he has still managed to be a contributing player for the Sox. Pollock has still managed to be worth 0.5 WAR this year and he has been able to contribute greatly when filling in as the Sox lead-off hitter. While a 212-point decrease in his OPS. is something nobody wanted to see, Pollock has still been someone that has helped the Sox win games on a nightly basis.
The same thing can not be said for Kimbrel who has disappointed the Dodgers immensely this season. Kimbrel has been worth 0 WAR this season, and he is currently having the worst full season of his career. A 4.04 ERA and a 1.364 WHIP are not numbers you want in your closer. Kimbrel has still converted 22 of 27 saves thus far, but that’s only because he has rarely pitched without a multi-run lead this year.
Kimbrel’s biggest blowup of the season happened earlier this week as he gave up a walk-off three-run bomb to Sergio Alcantara to cost them a game against the Diamondbacks.
The Diamondbacks were down to their final out and Sergio Alcantara hit a walk-off home run off of Craig Kimbrel! pic.twitter.com/mCY5z4NJXP
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 15, 2022
Many Dodgers fans have been displeased with the team keeping Craig Kimbrel in this role and wonder if he will even make their postseason roster.
You cannot have Craig Kimbrel close games for the Dodgers in the postseason.
— Klein25 (@Klein25) September 15, 2022
Kimbrel sucks. Do not put that man on the playoff roster #Dodgers
— Ryan Davis ✌🏼 (@Drama_9) September 15, 2022
Despite the Dodgers having a much better season than the White Sox, the Criag Kimbrel trade is a move that many fans regret. The Dodgers managed to clinch their ninth division title in the last 10 years, but many people are still worried about their World Series chances with such a massive issue at closer. While a good October could save Kimbrel’s reputation this year, a bad one could put him out of the league entirely.
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