For a moment or two, the Atlanta Braves were in the midst of a feel-good reunion.
But they cut the good vibes short.
Craig Kimbrel, the greatest reliever in Braves history, returned to MLB with Atlanta on Friday.
Kimbrel pitched an inning against the Giants, a scoreless frame. He allowed a hit and a walk, but a caught stealing and a pickoff by Kimbrel allowed him to escape with no runs on the board.
The Braves immediately turned around and designated Kimbrel for assignment on Saturday, removing him from the 40-man roster to recall lefty Austin Cox from Triple-A.
Kimbrel hasn’t been his legendary Braves self in a long time, but it was still quite a bummer of a move for the 37-year old.
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The dominant closer pitched five original seasons in Atlanta to the tune of a magnificent 1.43 ERA. In 289 innings with the Braves, Kimbrel struck out an absurd 476 batters.
Since Kimbrel left after the 2014 season, he pitched for the Padres, Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers, Phillies and Orioles.
Kimbrel spent much of 2024 in the majors with Baltimore, but he had a 5.33 ERA and was released in September.
Whether he ever makes it back to MLB remains to be seen, but at least he had this one final scoreless inning with the Braves.
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