Craig Kimbrel
Of course Craig Kimbrel is number one on this list; honestly, it’s not even a particularly close race. Kimbrel is arguably the best reliever in baseball, not just the best available free agent reliever, and the Twins would be very, very, very lucky to have him.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
With that said, it’s not super likely. Kimbrel’s desired contract has kept big money teams like the Red Sox away, so for the Twins to shell out the cash to acquire him would be quite a surprise.
But this isn’t a list of who they will sign, this is a list of who the should sign, and price aside they really should get Kimbrel.
He’d immediately make their pitching staff a lot better, and he’s still young enough that he’s worth signing to a multi-year deal, meaning he’d potentially be around when their contention window really opens up.
Relievers, especially closers, are pretty fickle; they often burn bright for a few seasons before succumbing to age or injury. So far, Kimbrel hasn’t fit this mold. Over 9 major league seasons, he’s posted an ERA over 3.00 only once, and he’s never had a K/9 below 13.
Over the years Kimbrel has been mostly injury free while sustaining a high average speed on his four-seam fastball, something that’s not super common in this era of fireballers. Last year he strengthened his repertoire by getting more movement on his curveball, which made the pitch harder for opposing batters to get a hold of.
Simply put, he’s one of the best. If the Minnesota Twins want to contend in the near future they’ll need to pick up Kimbrel level players, so they might as well pick him up now while he’s available.