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One day after bringing back Craig Kimbrel, perhaps the greatest closer in franchise history, the struggling Atlanta Braves have designated the veteran reliever for assignment. The club recalled left-hander Austin Cox in a corresponding move. 

The 37-year-old Kimbrel made only one appearance during his second stint with Atlanta. During Friday's eventual 5-4 loss (boxscore) to the San Francisco Giants, Kimbrel was summoned to pitch during the seventh inning. In his first appearance for the Braves since 2014, Kimbrel allowed a leadoff single to Heliot Ramos, who was soon after thrown out by catcher Sean Murphy on an attempted steal of second base. Kimbrel then walked Jung Hoo Lee but picked him off first and then struck out Wilmer Flores to end the frame. During the appearance, Kimbrel's fastball averaged just 91.5 mph. 

The Braves signed Kimbrel to a minor-league contract back in the middle of March. Now, though, the reunion may be at an end. While Kimbrel has been in decline for some time, earlier in his career, he enjoyed one of the great peaks of any reliever in MLB history. Most of that peak came with the Braves, who first drafted and signed Kimbrel back in 2008. As a Brave from 2010-14, Kimbrel registered a sparkling 1.43 ERA with 186 saves and 476 strikeouts in 289 innings. He earned four All-Star selections with Atlanta and also notched that many top-10 finishes in the NL Cy Young vote. Kimbrel is also the Braves' franchise leader in saves. Of his 440 career saves, 186 came with Atlanta. 

As for the Braves, they remain one of the most disappointing teams of the 2025 season thus far. Friday night's loss in extras dropped them to 27-35 on the season, which puts them in fourth place in the National League East. They trail the first-place New York Mets by 12 games, and the Braves are also eight games out of the third and final NL wild-card spot.