Opening Day is just weeks away and Craig Kimbrel still is without a home.
Red Sox chairman Tom Werner stated it was “extremely unlikely” Boston would re-sign the pitcher and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski echoed those statements when he said the team has internal options to consider for its next closer.
But Kimbrel reportedly has drawn interest from teams around Major League Baseball, including the Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies.
And now, another National League team is in the pursuit of the 30-year-old.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, league sources told him the Washington Nationals, who officially lost their star in Bryce Harper to the Phillies, “maintain interest” in signing Kimbrel, ” a move that would cap off their efforts to construct a powerhouse bullpen and further escalate the competition in the NL East,” he writes.
It’s been reported Kimbrel was seeking a contract upward of $100 million, and threatened to sit out the entire 2019 season if he didn’t receive an offer close to that asking price.
Kimbrel certainly would add spark to a Nats bullpen that already includes Kyle Barraclough, Trevor Rosenthal and Sean Doolittle. While the trio have closed games before, none have the experience Kimbrel do.
