Many Orioles fans tend to want to get rid of a player whenever he is in trouble.
You have heard it more often this summer than the word “moral”. “It is time for ______ to go. Just bring a young guy with you. That guy can’t possibly be worse.”
Sometimes we just vent our frustration. We know we shouldn’t believe that the alternative (no, I don’t mean you, Colin Selby, why do you ask?) could be worse than an unsuccessful experienced player. But we don’t really know where the line is between “could he really be worse” and (voice three octaves higher) “COULD HE REALLY BE WORSE?”
Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter sometimes quotes an old sports saying. “Never let the star fall on you,” he says. But even Showalter understands how difficult the decision is. Players past their prime, like Jim Thome and Vladimir Guerrero, were treated with respect when they ended their careers in Baltimore.
Craig Kimbrel’s season in Baltimore has been… let’s say “adventurous.” There’s been a period of success. There’s been moments of pure dominance. There’s been difficulties. There’s been excuses (“He gets too much pitching and he’s obviously not being used enough!”). There’s been demotions. And lately, there’s been… a lot of walks. Lots and lots and lots of walks. Since July 14, there have been 12 walks in 9.2 innings.
And yes, there were calls to give him a DFA.
I have mostly laughed at these proposals and dismissed them outright. If you are reading this, you are probably expecting me to say that I have since changed my mind. You don’t understand that. But there is a more important point. I still reject these proposals, but not because I think they are absurd. I reject them because there is simply no reasonable alternative at the moment.
It looks like Dillon Tate is about to get another chance to earn a spot. Presumably, he’ll take Selby’s spot on the roster, possibly even before you read this column. But then who? Cade Povich looked incredible in a spot start on Aug. 17, but it’s impossible to call him a game-winning bullpen pitcher without experience in that role.
Whether or not you think Kimbrel can recapture his May and June form, there’s simply no reason to vacate his spot on the roster today. But things can change. If Kimbrel continues to give up so many free and stolen bases that your kids are scared to start the school year, that could change. And if everyone else stays healthy and productive (or, in Gregory Soto’s case, becomes productive), things could get a lot more interesting when Jacob Webb and Danny Coulombe return.
It’s certainly questionable whether Kimbrel can definitely secure a spot on the playoff roster. But if things continue like this, his usefulness could be exhausted before then. What’s in Kimbrel’s favor is that if the team is even willing to call him up, it almost certainly won’t happen before September 1st. The Orioles probably don’t want to allow themselves the one-in-a-million horror scenario of Kimbrel joining another club and then pitching well against them in the postseason. Plaxico Burress thinks that would be a painful shot in the foot.
And if Kimbrel survives until September 1, he will have the benefit of an extra roster spot, which could potentially help him stay on the team and give him more time to resolve his at-large issues.
The important thing is that the Orioles aren’t making a decision just because they’re paying him $13 million. And it’s not just Kimbrel. If Soto can’t solve his own problems, his spot on the roster shouldn’t be guaranteed just because the Birds traded Moisés Chace and Seth Johnson for him. The same goes for Trevor Rogers, who cost Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers. Soto and Rogers are more complicated because they’re under contract through 2025 and 2026, respectively. That probably protects them from even being considered, but certainly shouldn’t guarantee them a spot on the playoff roster.
The Orioles have a club option on Kimbrel through 2025 that they will not exercise. He’s looking more and more like someone who is at the end of his rope, so a decision on his place on the roster may not have to wait until the end of the regular season.
But he still has time to turn things around.
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles
