Call to the pen
Fansided

2019 MLB figures getting coal from Santa Claus this Christmas

By Bill Felber

A detail shot of the topiary in center field at Minute Maid Park. Allegations surfaced in 2019 that the Astros hid a camera in center that they used to spy on pitches.. (Photo by Cooper Neill/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
A detail shot of the topiary in center field at Minute Maid Park. Allegations surfaced in 2019 that the Astros hid a camera in center that they used to spy on pitches.. (Photo by Cooper Neill/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /
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Craig Kimbrel heads to the clubhouse after giving up back to back home runs during the ninth inning of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on September 21. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Craig Kimbrel heads to the clubhouse after giving up back to back home runs during the ninth inning of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on September 21. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) /

2019 MLB figures getting coal from Santa

Craig Kimbrel

Kimbrel did his best to cash in on his post-2018 celebrity status by demanding more money and more years than any rational owner was willing to offer him, as a result sitting out the start of the 2019 season.

By June, though the Chicago Cubs were sufficiently desperate for closer help to court and then fall in love with Kimbrel. They offered him a three-year, $48 million deal, which Kimbrel took.

There is nothing on this good earth more mercurial than a relief pitcher, a fact Kimbrel proved anew in 2019. In exchange for the $16 million he received in 2019, he gave the Cubs an 0-4 record, a 6.53 ERA and nine home runs allowed, all in just 20 innings of work.

It would be possible to cite several plausible reasons for why the Cubs failed to qualify for post-season play for the first time since 2014, but it would not be possible to compile that list without including the decision to sign Kimbrel.

After two months of trying to extract some value from Kimbrel, the Cubs consigned him to September mop-up duty…which probably wasn’t what they paid that $16 million for. In his only three appearances down the stretch, Kimbrel recorded seven outs while allowing six earned runs, four of them on home runs.

Fortunately for Kimbrel, while he can’t expect much from Santa, there’s enough in his bank account to fund his own Christmas presents…not that he deserves any.

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