{"id":51004,"date":"2025-04-26T10:14:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T10:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004"},"modified":"2025-04-26T10:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T10:14:10","slug":"update-craig-kimbrel-is-leaving-no-doubt-that-hes-ready-to-return-to-the-braves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: Craig Kimbrel is leaving no doubt that he\u2019s ready to return to the Braves"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"player-wrapper relative aspect-video mb-[18px] bg-grey rounded-md hidden player-wrapper-lg md:block\">\n<div id=\"mm-player-placeholder-large-screen\" class=\"absolute top-0 left-0 w-full h-full\">\n<div id=\"voltax-mp-video\" class=\"shadow-root-voltax-mp\">\n<div class=\"voltax-mp-placeholder voltax-mp-placeholder-anchored floating\" data-is-split-view=\"false\"><em>From the years 2010-2014, closer Craig Kimbrel was absolutely electric for the Atlanta Braves. He earned NL Rookie of the Year honors and appeared in four All-Star Games over this stretch while posting a jaw-dropping 1.52 ERA. He is still the team&#8217;s all-time saves leader, and ranks fifth in that category in MLB history at 440.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">As you could imagine, now at age 36, Kimbrel is well past his prime. The last few seasons have been a struggle for the hard-throwing right-hander. But now he&#8217;s back where it all began, and he&#8217;s eyeing a return to a big-league mound that could come sooner rather than later if his recent form is any indication.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Craig Kimbrel looks ready to help the Braves bullpen<\/h2>\n<p>Alex Anthopoulos and the Braves front office had a very conservative offseason this past winter. The starting rotation and bullpen were depleted and there were minimal additions to help patch the holes. Charlie Morton and Max Fried both joined the AL East (the\u00a0Orioles\u00a0and\u00a0Yankees, respectively), while Brian Snitker\u2019s most trusted relief arm, AJ Minter, became a division rival with the\u00a0New York Mets.<\/p>\n<p>Anthopoulos made it clear that any needs the team had would be addressed internally if possible, but making some additions in the free agent market was unavoidable. The Braves&#8217; bullpen has\u00a0gotten off to a disastrous start, leading Atlanta to reunite with Kimbrel and hope that the future Hall of Famer has enough left in the tank to make a big-league contribution. Judging by his Minor League stats so far, it is safe to say Kimbrel is ready to be in the Majors again.<\/p>\n<figure>5,344 days between\u00a0@GoStripers\u00a0K&#8217;s for Craig Kimbrel!<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0@Braves\u00a0reliever rips off his fifth straight hitless outing as he eyes a return to The Show:\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/pO5e92jLyI<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 25, 2025<\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Kimbrel is currently with Triple-A Gwinnett and pitched a clean inning on Thursday, his fifth consecutive hitless frame during this Minor League stint. With the Atlanta offense starting to wake up a little bit, the bullpen is in need of a trusted arm on the back end.<\/p>\n<p class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Of course Kimbrel will not be expected to take Raisel Iglesias\u2019 closing role, but he could add another option for Snitker in a high-leverage situation. Kimbrel\u2019s stuff looks like it can still play in the Majors; don\u2019t be surprised if we see him with the big-league club in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the years 2010-2014, closer Craig Kimbrel was absolutely electric for the Atlanta Braves. He earned NL Rookie of the Year honors and appeared in four All-Star&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":51005,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>UPDATE: Craig Kimbrel is leaving no doubt that he\u2019s ready to return to the Braves - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UPDATE: Craig Kimbrel is leaving no doubt that he\u2019s ready to return to the Braves - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From the years 2010-2014, closer Craig Kimbrel was absolutely electric for the Atlanta Braves. He earned NL Rookie of the Year honors and appeared in four All-Star...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-26T10:14:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/66677.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004\",\"name\":\"UPDATE: Craig Kimbrel is leaving no doubt that he\u2019s ready to return to the Braves - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/66677.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-26T10:14:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-26T10:14:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/66677.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/66677.png\",\"width\":760,\"height\":760},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UPDATE: Craig Kimbrel is leaving no doubt that he\u2019s ready to return to the Braves\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731\",\"name\":\"MsThao\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MsThao\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UPDATE: Craig Kimbrel is leaving no doubt that he\u2019s ready to return to the Braves - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UPDATE: Craig Kimbrel is leaving no doubt that he\u2019s ready to return to the Braves - NEWS USA","og_description":"From the years 2010-2014, closer Craig Kimbrel was absolutely electric for the Atlanta Braves. He earned NL Rookie of the Year honors and appeared in four All-Star...","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2025-04-26T10:14:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":760,"height":760,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/66677.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MsThao","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MsThao","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004","name":"UPDATE: Craig Kimbrel is leaving no doubt that he\u2019s ready to return to the Braves - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/66677.png","datePublished":"2025-04-26T10:14:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-26T10:14:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/66677.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/66677.png","width":760,"height":760},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=51004#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UPDATE: Craig Kimbrel is leaving no doubt that he\u2019s ready to return to the Braves"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731","name":"MsThao","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MsThao"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=3"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51004"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51007,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51004\/revisions\/51007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}