With nine days left before 2025 MLB Opening Day, there’s not too much time for the remaining free agents to find homes. Three did over the last 24 hours, including Patrick Corbin and Craig Kimbrel.
Kimbrel and McCann sign with Atlanta
Atlanta has been active in the free agent market over the last 24 hours. The Braves signed veteran catcher James McCann to a Minor League deal. McCann hit .234/.279/.388 (.667 OPS) with eight home runs over 66 games.
It’s obvious why the Braves targeted McCann. Sean Murphy will miss the start of the year and as of now, the Braves have just one other catcher (Chadwick Tromp) on their 40-man roster. Sandy Leon and prospect Drake Baldwin are in camp as non-roster invitees.
McCann’s been known to be a reliable backstop, one who can frame very well. Just two years ago with the Mets, he posted a +2 Catcher Framing Runs stat with the Mets. However, that number dipped to -5 with the Orioles in 2024.
The Braves also signed Craig Kimbrel to a Minor League deal, bringing him back to Atlanta. Kimbrel spent the first five seasons of his MLB career with the Braves.
Kimbrel has lived up in the zone with his fastball for years, a pitch with high carry & extension that can overwhelm hitters. That wasn’t the case last year, as hitters hunted that upstairs fastball, one that often fell right in the middle of the plate. Opposing hitters slugged .421 off the four-seamer in 2024, his worst in four years.
Oddly enough, his 2020 season (5.28 ERA, 1.43 WHIP) was none too kind to Kimbrel, either.
The 35-year-old was DFA’d last summer by the Orioles. Baltimore signed Kimbrel in December 2023 to replace the injured Felix Bautista.
Corbin goes to the Rangers
The Rangers formally announced that the team agreed on a Major League deal with left-hander Patrick Corbin. To make room for Corbin on the 40-man roster, Jon Gray was placed on the 60-day IL with a right forearm fracture.
Corbin joins the Rangers after a six-year run with the Nationals, highlighted by a 238-strikeout season in 2019. The left-hander struck out 36 in the playoffs, helping the Nats win their first World Series title.
Since then, Corbin’s been largely a below-average pitcher. He’s posted a 5.00+ ERA in four straight seasons. Not to mention his swing-and-miss rates have tanked since that 2019 season. Corbin posted an elite 31.7% Whiff% in 2019. But in 2024, he was down to 22.4%.
The 35-year-old still possesses a good slider, albeit one with not as much consistent vertical depth as it had in the past. He also still generates a lot of ground balls, thanks to his running sinker.
Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young highlighted the team liked some of the tweaks he made last season, including the addition of a cutter, plus other underlying metrics.
Corbin slots in a depth starter, noteworthy since both Jon Gray and Cody Bradford are currently injured.
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