Rays Sign Craig Kimbrel to Major League Deal
The Tampa Bay Rays, owners of the best record in the American League, are turning to a future Hall of Famer to fortify their bullpen.
On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Rays are signing longtime closer Craig Kimbrel to a major league contract. Kimbrel, who turns 38 on Thursday, is fifth on MLB's all-time saves list with 440; he is second among active players in career saves, behind only Detroit Tigers closer Kenley Jansen (third all-time with 483).
Rays in agreement with reliever Craig Kimbrel on major-league deal, source tells @TheAthletic. Became free agent when he refused minor-league assignment with Mets.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 26, 2026
Kimbrel began the 2026 season with the New York Mets, who signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training on January 29. Despite not initially making the team out of camp, he chose to remain with the Mets and was ultimately called up on April 11.
In 14 appearances so far, Kimbrel has an 0-2 record with a bloated 6.00 ERA over 15.0 innings pitched. However, eight of his 14 appearances were scoreless, while seven of the runs he allowed came over the course of two outings (April 23 against the Minnesota Twins and May 7 against the Colorado Rockies). Kimbrel surrendered a run in each of his last three appearances with the Mets, and he was designated for assignment on May 22.
Hearing Kimbrel expected to join #Rays today in Baltimore and be active and available tonight. Last pitched May 20 for #Mets. https://t.co/K8fn0qxzGC
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) May 26, 2026
As Rosenthal noted, the Mets would outright Kimbrel to Triple-A Syracuse, but the veteran reliever promptly elected free agency. The Rays, who have open spots on their 40-man roster and won't need to make a corresponding move, quickly scooped him up.
Although the Rays have been one of MLB's most surprising teams thanks to a strong lineup and starting pitching, their bullpen is suspect with a 4.40 ERA (21st in the league). They had lost their last two games via walk-off home runs; Kevin Kelly surrendered one to Aaron Judge on Sunday, while Jesse Scholtens coughed one up to Colton Cowser on Monday. As a result, the Rays' lead in the AL East shrank to 3.5 games.
The Rays have signed veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel to a major-league deal, according to Ken Rosenthal. pic.twitter.com/N3Pc9uZycl
— Jake (@TBRaysCentral) May 26, 2026
Kimbrel may not be the pitcher he once was, but the Rays will certainly welcome any potential upside he can bring. The righty is still capable of striking out batters with a 23.4% K-rate this season; just last year, Kimbrel struck out 34.7% of the batters he's faced. Additionally, given the Rays' history of developing quality arms, they're one of the ideal teams to get any remaining juice out of the future Hall of Famer.
The Rays may get their first opportunity to deploy Kimbrel today, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that the righty is expected to join the team in Baltimore. Tampa Bay will look to get right back to their winning ways against the Orioles, with Griffin Jax getting the ball against former Ray Shane Baz at 6:35 PM EST.
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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 1:38 PM.