A week before both teams participate in their respective Opening Day ceremonies, Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers finished the latest MLB blockbuster on Friday.
Entering the new season with a full roster of All-Stars and MVPs like Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger and rookie Freddie Freeman among others, as well as a change of starters led by All -Star Walker Buehler and three-time NL Cy Young award-winning Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles were the World Series favorites ahead of Friday’s deal. Now, this is how their barn is expected to look with the addition of Kimbrel.
Kimbrel spent the first five seasons of his career with the Atlanta Braves from 2010 to 2014, leading the league in saves for four years in a row, including a career-high 50 in 2013. Kimbrel won the NL Rookie of the Year award. in 2011 and made the top 10 in NL Cy Young’s vote four times and made the top 10 in the NL MVP vote once – both rare feats for a reliever – in his days. He played for Atlanta, but was transferred to the San Diego Padres in April 2015.
After one season in San Diego, the fireball rights were traded to the Boston Red Sox and stayed in Beantown for the next three campaigns – becoming his fifth, sixth, and seventh All-Star team and champion World Series 2018. Kimbrel then signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2019 but had an unusually poor season that year and in 2020, highlighted by control issues.
The Huntsville, Alabama native was traded from the Cubs to the White Sox in July 2021 and finally bounced back last season with his eighth All-Star nod. Kimbrel Be the first among active pitchers with 372 career saves, just ahead of the closer longtime Dodgers Kenley Jansen (350), who joined the Braves in the off-season.
Once a first-round draft pick, Pollock spent the first seven seasons his career from 2012 to 2018 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, before signing with Los Angeles in January 2019. His best season came in 2015 when he finished with a career-high 111 record. ), counter (192), doubles (39), RBIs (76), stolen bases (39), hit average (0.315) and percentage on base (0.367), while earning got the Golden Glove and his only All-Star nod.
