NORTH PORT, Fla. — When you’re Craig Kimbrel from Huntsville, Ala., by way of Wallace State Community College, and you’ve spent a 15-year MLB career daring guys to hit your formerly hellacious fastball, rarely showing emotion when things went your way and even more rarely making excuses when they didn’t, it’s hard to change.

It’s also hard for Kimbrel, who was a stoic steamroller of a closer for so many years, to open up and explain why he’s suddenly struggling mightily to get hitters out and reporters are asking why, as has been the case a few times in recent seasons including last year before he was released by the Baltimore Orioles in September.

Perhaps it felt beneath him to say his back was aching and that his fastball, not the overwhelming pitch it once was, was even less so when he couldn’t generate the power with his lower half that he did when he was at his most elite level.

Nearly six months later, Kimbrel, 36, was at least willing to share with a reporter — one he knew from those early Atlanta Braves years — that a balky back contributed to his struggles last season. Baltimore had signed him to a one-year, $13 million deal after an All-Star season with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023 that ended with Kimbrel’s taking two losses in the NLCS.

There was a real turn-back-the-block torrid stretch last season for Kimbrel, which allowed him to post a 2.10 ERA, 23 saves and a sparkling .147 opponents’ average and .483 opponents’ OPS in 38 appearances through July 7. But he unraveled from there, with an 11.50 ERA, .303 OA and 1.006 OOPS in 19 appearances through Sept. 17 before being let go.

“Yeah, I know the end of last year was a little tough,” he said. “It was tough to watch. It was tough to go through. But I was trying. I mean, I was battling. I was trying to stay out there, and it wasn’t working out for me for many reasons. But I think I got those reasons taken care of, and I feel pretty good about getting the ball and getting back out there.”

Pushed to elaborate on what he was dealing with last season, Kimbrel paused, then said: “When you get older, there are certain things that — I mean, I played this long in my career. I pitched through stuff. You don’t stay out on the field unless you do. And last year, I just hit a point where it was something I couldn’t get through.

“And I just needed some time. I got some time. And here I am.”

It was clear he didn’t want to get much more specific, but a little later, Kimbrel did. Slightly.

When asked, he said he didn’t hurt his back doing anything specific, such as lifting weights. It was more cumulative.

“I would say just years and years of doing what I’m doing, trying to keep weight on, and as a pitcher the way I throw,” he said. “I mean, it’s all in my legs; it’s all my lower body. And as soon as I start trying to do more and trying to use my arm, it’s no good.”

He left a late-April game with back soreness, the second of four times in a five-game stretch in which he failed to make it out of the ninth inning. But he didn’t cite health as a reason for those struggles at the time; he only said he needed to do better.

And he did, for more than two months immediately after that five-game slide. He produced a 0.43 ERA and .287 opponents’ OPS over his next 22 appearances, with 31 strikeouts, five walks, no homers allowed in 21 innings during that span, including 15 saves in 16 opportunities.

It was vintage Kimbrel, who got the nickname “Dirty C” from teammates in Atlanta, back when his stuff was so filthy they expected him to get out of jams with strikeouts — even if two or three runners were on base with one or no outs.

But now, in his mid-30s instead of his mid-20s, maintaining that level is far trickier for pitchers. His midseason surge ended with a three-run, three-hit, two-walk inning against the New York Yankees in his last appearance before the All-Star break, a harbinger of what awaited after the break.

“I just got to where I couldn’t trust my legs, I couldn’t trust my drive, and I’d drop my drive down the mound,” Kimbrel said. “And when that’s the case — I mean, we saw it towards the end last year, it’s not any good.”

He’s the first to acknowledge he isn’t as overpowering as he once was, but he said he’s still plenty good to perform at a high level when healthy, throwing strikes with his fastball and keeping hitters off-balance with his curveball.

“I’m not throwing 100, but my stuff’s still there,” said Kimbrel, whose average fastball velocity was 98 mph at the end of his first five seasons with Atlanta. Kimbrel was still 96.9 in 2020 but dropped to a career-low 93.9 in his physically challenging 2024 season.

Lest we forget, Kimbrel was elite for a long time. As elite as any closer for most of a decade. Elite long enough to rack up 440 saves, fifth most in history and more saves than the combined totals of Josh Hader and Edwin Diaz.

But that’s the past. Now, he is an aging reliever trying to rejuvenate his career with his original team, the team with which he had his greatest success, debuting for Atlanta in May 2010 and leading the National League in saves in each of his four full seasons with Atlanta (2011-2014).

That included a majors-leading 50 saves with a 1.21 ERA in 2013, when he finished fourth in NL Cy Young balloting, after finishing fifth in 2012 when he posted a 1.01 ERA and had 116 strikeouts with only 14 walks in 62 2/3 innings.

Kimbrel made the All-Star team in each of his four full seasons with Atlanta and made it five times since, including three with the Boston Red Sox (2016-2018) and once apiece with the Chicago Cubs (2021) and Phillies (2023).

And for a while last summer, he was healthy and elite again. The Braves hope there’s more of that first-half Kimbrel left in the tank.

They figured there was no risk involved in signing him to a minor league deal that will pay $2 million prorated for any time he’s on the MLB roster, which could be as soon as a few weeks from now, after he gets ramped up at Triple-A Gwinnett and assuming the Braves have a need.

“Hopefully he can replicate what he did the first half of last year,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, who was Atlanta’s third-base coach when Kimbrel debuted in the majors. “It’ll be awesome if he can come in and do that. It’ll be good to see him. God, I loved Craig.”

If he’s got something left as he showed for a couple of months last season, he could be valuable for a Braves bullpen that has some potent arms but lacks depth.

“Anytime you can add a bullet like that to your bullpen, a guy with that experience,” Snitker said, “obviously back-end, closer-type stuff. If he can pitch in the seventh inning on, that’d be awesome to get a guy like that.”

Kimbrel didn’t have a spring training since he was unsigned until last week, so he’ll be careful not to overdo things initially. He wants to use the next two or three weeks as his spring training, then be ready to help the Braves if and when they have a need.

He’s not looking ahead too far, but Kimbrel’s eyes lit up when he was informed the Braves would play the Cincinnati Reds in a special one-off game Aug. 2 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Alabama native’s dad, Mike, is a big racing fan and became known for riding his Harley-Davidson hundreds of miles to some of Kimbrel’s road games when he was with the Braves.

TV cameras would often show the long-haired, long-bearded Mike Kimbrel seated in the stands, in a Kimbrel jersey and leather hat.

“He’s still riding, but not quite as much,” Kimbrel said, smiling.

When told about the Braves game this summer at Bristol, Kimbrel said, “Oh, he’ll definitely ride to that one and probably bring some of his buddies.”

(Top photo: Scott Cunningham / Getty Images)

David O’Brien is a senior writer covering the Atlanta Braves for The Athletic. He previously covered the Braves for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and covered the Marlins for eight seasons, including the 1997 World Series championship. He is a two-time winner of the NSMA Georgia Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow David on Twitter @DOBrienATL