Though he was anything but clean during two truncated tours in which disaster was just as likely to strike as his curveball, Craig Kimbrel is finally back to being dirty. After joining the Cubs in late June of the 2019 season, Kimbrel proceeded to allow a career-worst nine home runs over a career-low 20.2 innings. His fastball was flat and lacked its traditional zip, plus the long layoff from waiting out his qualifying offer penalty left him rusty and prone to nagging injuries.
The 2020 season started out looking like more of the same until mechanical adjustments saw him dialing his heater up and hiding his curveball better.