The Atlanta Braves’ bullpen has been a hot topic to start the season. While they have had some moments where they have shined, they have mostly been very shaky as a unit in 2025. Raisel Iglesias seems to be a bit off which is not great when he is your closer and there is pretty clearly a depth deficit that is making it very difficult to navigate the middle innings of games.
One potential solution that has Braves fans excited is Craig Kimbrel who the team inked to a MiLB deal late in the offseason. In order to build up towards a potential 2025 debut in the majors, Kimbrel has been busy mowing down unsuspecting minor leaguers and recently got bumped up to Triple-A Gwinnett as part of his ramp up.
After his latest appearance in the minor leagues, it would not be crazy to think that Kimbrel could make his Braves debut as soon as this weekend against the Diamondbacks.
Another scoreless inning tonight with Triple-A Gwinnett for #Braves Craig Kimbrel, who has now appeared in back-to-back games for the first time.
Overall, he’s been effective:
5.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) April 25, 2025
Craig Kimbrel promotion could be imminent after latest dominant outing in the minor leagues
Before fans go too crazy, you should not expect prime Craig Kimbrel whenever he returns to the mound. Kimbrel was very transparent after signing that he doesn’t have the same stuff anymore and all of the miles on his body (and specifically his back) caught up with him last year. Still, he maintains his stuff is good enough to perform at a high level especially after doing some work to help his body recover during the offseason.
Caveats aside, Kimbrel has certainly looked the part down in the minor leagues so far. He has pitched the last two nights which is an important milestone for him to reach if he is going to be chipping in the big leagues and it was his fifth straight scoreless appearance this season.
We probably shouldn’t expect Kimbrel to show up in Arizona today as throwing an older pitcher with a recently history of back issues on a plane immediately after his first back-to-back seems like a bad idea. However, his performance does indicate that it would not be crazy to think he could join the team on their current road trip and as soon as this weekend.
For a team that really needs some more relief depth and who need a good road trip after a terrible start away from Truist Park this season, Kimbrel’s arrival cannot come soon enough.
