Eddy: Yankees sign Cole Kimball to minor league deal

February 7, 2014 by Mike Axisa 20 Comments

Via Matt Eddy: The Yankees have signed right-hander Cole Kimball to a minor league contract. I assume he received an invitation to Spring Training as well, meaning there will now be 27 non-roster players in camp this year.

Kimball, 28, is a local guy who was born in Brooklyn and raised in Hackettstown. He picked up eleven innings of big league experience with the Nationals in early 2011, but he had rotator cuff surgery that July and has only thrown 49 innings since. Last season he had an 8.06 ERA and 4.91 FIP in 25.2 relief innings for Washington’s Triple-A affiliate, striking out 25 and walking 14.

“Before he got hurt, Kimball attacked hitters with a heavy 93-97 mph fastball, a swing-and-miss splitter in the mid-80s and a power curveball in the low 80s. He can throw the curve for strikes or bury it as a chase pitch,” wrote Baseball America (subs. req’d) in their 2012 Prospect Handbook. The Yankees are clearly hoping Kimball gets back to his pre-surgery form as he gets further away from the procedure.

Ralph

did anyone else read this really fast and thought they saw “Craig Kimbrel”? #wishfulthinking
- Dale Mohorcic
  
  *raises hand**
Rick

Sounds close enough to Craig Kimbrell that he could probably intimidate the first three batters he faces on confusion alone. He’s on his own after that.
Jorge Steinbrenner

If we mention over and over the actual resemblence to COAL HAMMELS, it may happened. I’m convinced that’s what made Jason Hammel good for a few minutes.
Tyrone Sharpton

Sounds good. Homegrown new yorker, bulldog innings eater a la Jack O’Morris, and can probably take over for mo in a couple years
- Havok9120
  
  I laughed uproariously when I read “innings eater” after reading the blurb above.
Dars

The Yankees may know something we don’t. Today K-Rod, Luis Ayala and Mitchell Boggs signed for peanuts and the Yankees did not even come in play. They must think Betances and Cabral will be cogwheels in their bullpen or they are likely to throw all the money they invested in free agency to the trash.
- Jorge Steinbrenner
  
  Because signing high-priced guys in free agency meant a personal guarantee to you that every other issue would be fixed at the same time.
  
  You have no clue who came into play. Perhaps these guys just simply chose to pitch somewhere else.
- The Great Gonzo
  
  Is it AT ALL possible that these pitchers have zero interest in becoming Yankees?
  
  I mean, sure… Cashman Failed and all that shit, but just because WE love the Yankees doesn’t mean Mitchell Boggs and Luis Ayala love the concept of being Yankees.
  - The Great Gonzo
    
    I mean, what I just said above… #SinceWeAreTheSameGuyAndAll #MomsBasement
  - Havok9120
    
    I can see that applying to K-Rod (he’ll probably get some saves with the Brew Crew), but the others? Unless it was just a concern about coming to a small ballpark in a division full of small ballparks.
    - The Great Gonzo
      
      Nah, I am saying personal preference.
      
      Maybe Boggs doesn’t like New York. Maybe he’s a fan of the city of Chicago (which I can totally get behind. Chicago is dope). Maybe he’s got some kin in Chicago, or maybe he knows a girl there…
      
      Maybe Ayala would rather roll the dice with ‘weaker’ hitters in the NL East. Maybe he doesn’t particularly like some of the people in the Yankees org, or he’s holding a grudge from 2011.
      
      All I’m saying is that its not all about ‘The Yankees’ or ‘the money’. When you are a reliever, you can essentially go anywhere, and we don’t know if the Yankees were involved. It may not be black and white like that.
      - Havok9120
        
        I agree that any of those are possibilities…but how often does such a thing keep a signing from happening? It just feels like a tremendous cop-out that could be used on any FA the Yankees miss on. We have no reason to believe any of that was involved, so why should we assume it was just to give the FO the benefit of the doubt?
        
        I’ve made my case here for why I’m not THAT worried about the pen and why I don’t think signing additional FA bullpen arms is the best way to improve the team right now. But I don’t think we need to bend quite THAT far backwards to keep from blaming the FO and ownership. One of the relievers who has signed this week would have signed with the Yankees had we made the best offer. Probably more than one. Possibly all of them.
- Havok9120
  
  Because if all money doesn’t pay off in year one, the investment wasn’t worth it.
  
  Sigh.
  - fin
    
    LOL, people are nuts, they expect the Yankees to completely rebuild the team, virtually from the ground up with 1 years worth of FA. The Yankees have put themselves in good shape to compete for the playoffs and division this year and can build on this offseason next year when there should/could be some attractive FA infielders. If the bullpen is an issue they can work on that during the season, bullpens have been built on the fly plenty of times.
Bryan

Sweet…I went to HS with that kid. He is a big guy. Hopefully he comes back from the injury and does well. He was really good prior to his injury.
edb

Arod drops his lawsuit and no coverage? analysis?
Eselquetodolosabe

A-rod’s made more money than most of us will make in 100 lifetimes, and all I can think of is the amount of money this guy cost himself. I’m referring to “settling” for a negotiated, lesser amount of games before all of these litigious proceedings began….. Which I vaguely remember was possible, and not to mention all of the millions in legal fees he’s incurred…… Pobrecito (sniff, sniff) !
W.B. Mason Williams

Seriously, the whole “Maybe he didn’t want to play for the Yankees!” thing has become really overused. I get it, most of us have scars for Maddux, Lee and Cano. But overusing this line is equally useless as claiming that the “Yankees will make the biggest offer for sure!” I realize it’s topical, but it’s becoming another “Cashman failed!”
Eselquetodolosabe

Interesting. I believe his father, Richard, lived and worked in Chicago for a while. Doctor, or something like that……