Reese Kaplan -- Not With a Bang But a Whimper...

Imagine having a career that started in 2010 as a relief pitcher who blossomed into one of the best the game has ever seen.  Craig Kimbrel’s performance resume is unquestionable.  Starting off with a Rookie of the Year award, he went on to gain a Rolaid’s relief pitcher award, a Trevor Hoffman NL reliever of the year award, a Mariano Rivera AL reliever of the year award, and 9 All Star game appearances.  You can’t make this stuff up.  For his career that thus far is in its 17th season he has a career 56 and 49 record, an ERA of 2.59 and he’s notched 440 saves.  His path to Cooperstown is all but guaranteed.

Unfortunately, during his age 38 season he was a late arrival to the Mets spring training camp, did not come north with the team but was a call up in April.  To say he’s not quite the same pitcher he once was is being extremely charitable.  In the final Colorado game Kimbrel came in with the score tied 2-2 and warmed up to handle the 8th inning responsibility.  He did finish the inning and did fan two batters.  Unfortunately he also gave up 3 hits, a walk and surrendered 4 runs to push the Rockies’ winning margin to a score of 6-2.  It now has Kimbrel leaving that game with a 7.56 ERA and a record of 0-2 which covers a span of 9 games.

So the question facing the Mets right now is loosely tied to the AJ Minter upcoming promotion.  When it becomes necessary to create a roster spot for Minter’s arrival will there be serious consideration to showing future Hall of Famer Kimbrel the exit door?  He’s arguably the second worst pitcher in the pen right now with Sean Manaea fighting for that title as well.  The difference is there is almost no money involved in the Kimbrel contract vs. the nearly $50 million due Manaea for the balance of this season and next. 

Have long time stars faced such a fate before?  Yes, of course, but given the stellar record he’s shown over the course of his career you would think he would be given the opportunity to bow out with dignity rather than facing an embarrassing DFA.  The other fringe relievers like Austin Warren and Huascar Brazoban have both been pitching to sub 2.00 ERAs and you’re not going to show Devin Williams, Brooks Raley nor David Peterson the door.  Consequently and surprisingly David Stearns has a very tough call to make on Kimbrel. 

On the offensive side it’s a little different.  The current roster due mostly to injuries includes players who have done little in their major league careers and even less while wearing a Mets uniform who need to follow a similar roster fate.  Vidal Brujan, Andy Ibanez and Austin Slater are all likely on the bubble, though cases could be made for veterans Brett Baty and Tyrone Taylor as well.  These future moves wouldn’t bear the same teeth gnashing as would the fate of Craig Kimbrel, but obviously when Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert and even Ronny Mauricio are medically sound they would represent major steps up in terms of player quality.