3 Reasons to get excited for Phillies’ Craig Kimbrel signing

2. Craig Kimbrel is Major League Baseball’s active leader in saves.

Now that the Philadelphia Phillies have reached the final stage of postseason play, what they accomplish in the regular season does not matter as much. It all comes down to recording important outs in Red October — including a hopeful World Series appearance.

To do so, manager Rob Thomson’s squad will need to rely on players with ample experience at what they do best. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Rhys Hoskins will need to slug home runs. Trea Turner will need to get on and steal bases. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola will need to go deep into games. For the eight-time All-Star in Craig Kimbrel, that will be retiring batters unscathed in the seventh, eighth, or ninth innings.

After all, Kimbrel is Major League Baseball’s active leader in saves with 394. He is closely followed by new Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen (391 saves). The duo respectively has the seventh and eighth-most saves all time, trailing only Mariano Rivera (652), Trevor Hoffman (601), Lee Smith (478), Francisco Rodríguez (437), John Franco (424), and Billy Wagner (422).

The last time the Phillies had a closer near the top of MLB’s all-time saves list was Jonathan Papelbon — who turned out to be an effective pitcher for them despite his controversial nature. Papelbon is the Phillies’ all-time save leader and sits at 368 career saves, the 11th most in league history. In parts of four seasons in red pinstripes, the right-hander recorded 123 saves.

Fittingly, both Papelbon and Kimbrel joined the Phillies after winning the World Series with the Boston Red Sox.

3. Craig Kimbrel reunites with Dave Dombrowski after Red Sox’ championship.

Craig Kimbrel signing with the Philadelphia Phillies officially marks his fourth different team in a short three years. His $10 million contract offer surely talks, but the closer’s relationship with President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski had to also be a deciding factor.

Dombrowski saw Kimbrel many times in spring training during his days leading the Detroit Tigers. Fast-forward to when he was at the helm of the Boston Red Sox, Dombrowski acquired Kimbrel in a November 2015 trade with the San Diego Padres.

While the swap featured four Red Sox prospects headed to the National League West, it was not considered as mortgaging their future and is revered as one of the executive’s best career moves.

Kimbrel, who Dombrowski has called a future Hall of Famer, went on to record 108 saves in three seasons with the Red Sox, including six saves in postseason play — culminating into a 2018 World Series championship. Without a doubt, it would be great if the pair can recapture their championship success five seasons later in Philadelphia.

Manager Rob Thomson’s 2023 Phillies bullpen depth chart now includes Kimbrel complemented by Seranthony Domínguez, José Alvarado, Connor Brogdon, and Matt Strahm — another former Red Sox arm — among others.

Opening Day for the 2023 season is now less than 100 days away, but pitchers and catchers will report to Clearwater, Florida, for spring training much sooner. With temperatures in the single digits before the Christmas holiday, baseball and warmer weather cannot come soon enough.