MLB Trade Rumors: White Sox acquire Craig Kimbrel from Cubs

It wasn’t that long ago that folks were remembering the pitcher that reliever Craig Kimbrel used to be and wondering where things had gone wrong for him. Once one of the most dominant relievers we have seen in baseball, Kimbrel saw his effectiveness with the Red Sox and Cubs drop off in a big way. It was seemingly a reminder that Father Time is undefeated.

However, the 2021 season has seen Kimbrel turn back the clock and look great again while posting a 0.49 ERA and 2.3 rWAR in 39 appearances for the Cubs this season. As a result, his name quickly became one of the hottest in the always busy reliever trade deadline market. A lot of teams were connected to him, but it looks like he is heading across town.

The Cubs got a very decent haul in return for Kimbrel in Heuer and Madrigal, but with Kimbrel and their previous acquisition of Liam Hendriks, the White Sox all of a sudden have one of the scariest bullpens in baseball and they were running away with the AL Central BEFORE they remade their bullpen.

Normally, cross town rivals don’t make moves with each other, but it looks like the Cubs were happy to get the best return possible....geography be damned.