The Chicago Cubs probably look at signing Craig Kimbrel as a mistake. Once again, hindsight is 2020 because before he signed he was perceived to be one of the game’s best closers. He is even in the stratosphere of the all-time great closers for some of his previous work. For whatever reason, however, things just haven’t been working out with him in Chicago and he might get traded as a result.
2019 was probably a result of signing late and how crazy his offseason must have been as a result. He was 0-4 as a closer but he had a terrible looking 6.53 ERA and a 1.597 WHIP. That is far worse than his career 2.08 ERA and 0.945 WHIP. For whatever reason, he just couldn’t figure it out as a member of the Cubs last year.
There are still a lot of contending teams that would probably give up a lot in order to acquire someone like Kimbrel. Even though it is no guarantee that he is ever elite again, it is a guarantee that he can get out there and close some ballgames for a few teams. He is definitely a candidate for a bounce-back season when baseball gets going again. He might be a guy that the Cubs are looking to move despite the fact that he is not a free agent after this year.