Yankees can only hope short-sighted Rays signing blows up in their face

As the Yankees try to chase down the maddeningly charmed Rays atop the AL East, they may have just gotten a big assist from ... the Rays themselves.

Tampa looked to bolster its beleaguered bullpen on Tuesday, but the team did so in just about the most confusing way imaginable: by signing Craig Kimbrel in the year of our lord 2026.

Kimbrel began this season with the Mets organization, first with New York's Triple-A affiliate before getting promoted to the Majors in April. But it became apparent pretty quickly that this was very far from the Kimbrel of old: He pitched to a 6.00 ERA across 15 innings of work, including seven earned runs over his last six appearances.

That stretch was bad enough that the Mets — a team that still has a glaring need for bullpen depth — decided to designate him for assignment, after which he elected free agency.

Tampa is clearly hoping for a rebound, and in fairness there aren't a ton of great options on the free-agent market after Memorial Day weekend. But Yankees fans know as well as anybody just how much this might be a case of subtraction by addition.

Rays' Craig Kimbrel gamble could be just the break the Yankees need

Tampa's bullpen has been in crisis mode just about all year long. The Rays currently rank 21st in baseball in reliever ERA, and that was before their Opening Day closer, Griffin Jax, got converted into a starter after injuries struck the team's rotation. Tampa needs warm bodies, full stop, especially in the wake of an extra-innings loss to the Orioles on Monday afternoon in which they used six different pitchers.

On the other hand ... Craig Kimbrel, really? The righty is about to turn 38 years old, and a steep decline in both his whiff and K rates point to a pitcher on his last legs is just about as bad as it gets. He got hit awfully hard with the Mets, and there's nothing to suggest the story will be different with a new team. It also helps that the Yankees have flat-out owned Kimbrel over the course of his career: His 5.27 ERA against the Bombers is his worst against any team with a minimum of 10 innings pitched.

Of course, with just how preposterously lucky the Rays have been so far this season, you can't rule out a dead-cat bounce here. But on the surface, at least, this feels like betting on a brand name more than anything, one that could turn one of Tampa's weaknesses into a five-alarm fire.

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