One of the biggest sources of frustration for the Atlanta Braves in the 2025 season was how the franchise opted to handle the exit of Craig Kimbrel. The former closer leads Atlanta in franchise saves and was brought back on a minor league deal in hopes of recapturing past production. The Braves allowed Kimbrel one road outing before parting ways with the veteran in what was an ugly move. Kimbrel deserved the chance to continue in an underwhelming bullpen or, at the very least, the chance to go out in front of his home crowd.
The veteran would land with the Houston Astros, pitching in 13 games and giving up only three earned runs. Fast forward a year later, and Kimbrel has continued to prove he has something left in the tank, pitching two scoreless outings with the New York Mets. Watching the former Brave continue to show up the Braves front office is frustrating and a reminder of how badly the Braves fumbled the situation.
Even as good as Atlanta's bullpen has been to start the 2026 season, it is easy to argue that Kimbrel could have been an option in one of the final two spots. Joel Payamps is a prime example of a struggling player whose roster spot Kimbrel could've filled. While the reliever hasn't been rostered since last season, there should still be a level of frustration as to how the situation was managed.
Braves Continue to Pay the Price for Mismanaging Atlanta Legend Craig Kimbrel
In fairness, it is important to point out that Atlanta's front office has had more recent wins than losses with Raisel Iglesias, Dominic Smith, and Mauricio Dubon standing out as offseason wins. However, this still doesn't wipe away the frustration of seeing Kimbrel pitch for a hated rival and doing so at a productive level.
Atlanta could've kept this production a season ago and offered their young bullpen an experienced veteran to lean on. Even in the 2026 season, this made sense for one of the final bullpen spots with the Braves dealing with a myriad of injuries to begin the season.
For Kimbrel, it is great to see the reliever returning to form, even if it does come with the Mets. The closer meant so much to his former organization and was one of the few truly dominating closers the league has seen. While these days are behind Kimbrel, the veteran has reinvented himself and continues to find ways to contribute.
Contributing to a rival instead of his first organization has to be laid squarely at the feet of a front office that disrespected the veteran a season ago and fumbled the opportunity to lock up what has been cheap production.
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