The Craig Kimbrel saga could be coming to a close.
While the Brewers have had reported "serious interest" in the last week, the Braves also are interested in signing the man who is 14th all time in saves with 333.
#Braves are still in on Kimbrel. From what I hear, it's between Milwaukee and Atlanta barring a late entry. If Braves could get him, their bullpen would from major question mark to solid in a hurry.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) March 22, 2019
Both teams' need for Kimbrel is clear but completely different.
The Braves need him to add to a bullpen in desperate need of a lockdown closer or at least back-of-the-bullpen arm. The Brewers on the other hand have plenty of arms, but due to an injury to righty Corey Knebel and questionable health of Jeremy Jeffress, Milwaukee simply doesn't want to go into the season short-handed where it thought it was strong.
Kimbrel reportedly was asking for a six-year, $100 million deal this offseason, but that has not been confirmed.
MLB Opening Day is March 28.
While Kimbrel is a very good closer teams should approach his signing with caution based on history. Greg Holland, an All-Star reliever with the Rockies in 2017, signed one day after opening day in 2018 with the Cardinals.
He signed so late he didn't have time to build up his arm and struggled mightily with the Cardinals posting a 7.92 ERA in 32 games. Kimbrel is very close to signing around the time Holland did.
Now, Kimbrel is not Holland, but it's something to take into account for any team wanting to bring him in.
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