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The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the midst of an incredible season but it doesn’t mean that they have nothing to address ahead of the postseason. One of those issues being the effectiveness of closer Craig Kimbrel.
He gave away a go-ahead homer to Christian Walker on Thursday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The outing ultimately turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts commented:
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"Dave Roberts on Craig Kimbrel: “I think the stuff is starting to slide a little bit. … I’ve got to continue to look at this. We’ve got to have our best guys at the backend.” - Matthew Moreno
The Dodgers acquired Kimbrel from the Chicago White Sox back in April with the hope of solidifying their ninth inning.
Despite posting a 5.09 ERA with the White Sox last year, the Dodgers thought that Kimbrel had the necessary attributes to close games. That optimism, however, hasn’t turned into success.
"CLUTCH. Christian Walker's 36th HR gives the @Dbacks the lead!" - MLB
Kimbrel has struggled to find consistency all year. He has notched nine scoreless outings, but has allowed at least one earned run in three of his last four appearances. Fans are running extremely thin on patience, and understandably so.
The Los Angeles Dodgers finally run out of patience with Craig Kimbrel
Ahead of Friday’s game against the Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts confirmed the writing on the wall. Craig Kimbrel will not be the team’s closer for the remainder of the regular season.
"#Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said they’re going to take Craig Kimbrel out of the closer role." - Juan Toribio
"#Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said they won’t name a closer. They’re going to give opportunities to multiple guys." - Juan Toribio
Speaking on the decision, Roberts said (via MLB.com):
“I talked to him today and right now, the plan is to change roles and just kind of get him in position to pitch in different innings and different situations. He was very open to doing whatever was best for the ballclub. I feel good about it.”
In Kimbrel's place, the Los Angeles Dodgers will try out various names in that role until the postseason gets underway. Given the comfortable position the Dodgers find themselves in, they have plenty of breathing space to try various permutations.
For more news and updates, go to the Sportskeeda Baseball page.
