How does Cishek-Strop-Kimbrel in the 7th-8th-9th sound? Or even Cishek-Strop-Morrow-Kimbrel? Well, now that is a very real possibility. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Chicago Cubs have signed free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel to a contract.

It was mind-boggling that both he and starting pitcher Dallas Kuechel did not sign in this past offseason, but it took just a couple days after the draft for Theo Epstein to decide that he has seen enough from his bullpen.

As of Monday morning, the loss of a draft pick that coincided with the signing of Kimbrel was dropped due to the 2019 MLB Draft taking place. That obviously made the signing much more attractive for several teams.

Another contributing factor to this signing is the money that the team could be saving by not paying Ben Zobrist right now. With Zobrist on the restricted list, the Cubs actually do not have to be paying his contract. While it is unclear how the team is handling this situation, it is very possible that the front office is free of paying the last year of BenZo’s 4 year, $56 million contract. That opens up some unexpected money to bring in Kimbrel.

The signing fills a major void on the Cubs roster. While the team is not short of relievers with enough talent to fill a roster spot at the Major League level, there is a tremendous need for a true back end of the bullpen arm. Most of the relievers currently are middle inning relievers and pitchers that are not expected to contribute in close games in the late innings.

The numbers on the deal have not yet been released, but I expect to hear them very soon and Kimbrel to begin throwing with the organization in the minors until he is warmed up and ready to go in Chicago as soon as possible.