Cubs Sign Free Agent Closer Craig Kimbrel

As Jason Heyward would say, better late than never, shit! The Cubs have signed free agent closer Craig Kimbrel.

The 31-year-old has a 1.91 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 532.2 MLB innings. He made his MLB debut with the Braves in 2010, and has recorded 333 games since.

Despite a "down" season for Kimbrel in 2018 with the Red Sox, Kimbrel still saved 42 games and had a 2.74 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 62.1 innings. His postseason was incredibly wild, allowing seven runs on nine hits and eight walks. Yet, Kimbrel was still able to save six games despite the bad results.

The biggest concern now is how long will it take for Kimbrel to join the Cubs bullpen and will he be good after the long layoff?

Jon Morosi reported on Wednesday that it would only take the all-star closer 7-10 days to get ready for game action.

It might take a couple weeks for Kimbrel to get ready, but if it's sooner, great! Just don't rush it.

Joe Maddon had to begin the year with Pedro Strop as the closer and at the time he was fine in that role after also filling in for Brandon Morrow in the second half of 2018. However, Strop was pitching injured and then missed nearly a month because of a hamstring injury. Overall, the Cubs bullpen has blown several games, but with Kimbrel signed he's now the shut down closer Maddon loves to have.

Now, Strop goes back to being the set-up man and Steve Cishek can settle in as the seventh inning reliever.

That's a pretty good trio, but you can't pretend that there aren't any concerns with Kimbrel.

In 2018, his average fastball velocity was 97.5 mph. It was at 98.6 mph in 2017 according to FanGraphs. His strikeout numbers took a slight dip, while his walk rate spiked a bit in 2018.

The Cubs need swing and miss relievers. Craig Kimbrel is that guy, but they front office has to hope that the right-hander doesn't take too long to shake off the rust.

They got it done. Maybe waited too long to address the biggest need on the team, but the Cubs eventually got around to it.