Craig Kimbrel Designated for Assignment by Orioles After Forgettable Second Half

The Baltimore Orioles are waiving Craig Kimbrel after designating the reliever to a new assignment on Wednesday.

Kimbrel played his final games Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants, allowing a personal best six earned runs on three hits in 2/3 innings during a 10-0 loss.

The Orioles signed the 36-year-old Kimbrel to a one-year, $13 million contract in December. The goal is for him to fill the role of closer with Félix Bautista out for the season after Tommy John surgery.

Kimbrel had a strong first half, recording 23 saves in 39 appearances and allowing just 11 earned runs in 35 1/3 innings. He also struck out 53 batters, had a 0.96 WHIP and held the opposition to a .150 batting average.

But since July 7, the date of his last save with the Orioles, things have been disastrous for Kimbrel, who has allowed runs in 11 of his last 19 appearances with Baltimore, while giving up 24 hits and 17 walks.

This is Kimbrel’s 15th MLB season, and the Orioles were his eighth team. The nine-time All-Star joined the Atlanta Braves in 2010, won the 2011 National League Rookie of the Year and was the team’s lights-out closer for five seasons.

Kimbrel currently ranks fifth all-time in saves with 440, six points behind Kenley Jansen of the Boston Red Sox and 38 points behind baseball Hall of Famer Lee Smith.