The Mets have plenty of intriguing non-roster invites in camp this season.
There are some exciting young prospects like Carson Benge and Ryan Lambert trying to earn their opportunity, and then you also have veterans such as Craig Kimbrel, who is trying to find his way back to the big-league level.
Kimbrel, of course, joined the club on a minor league deal just two weeks ago.
It remains to be seen whether or not the 37-year-old closer has anything left in the tank, but he is coming off an awfully encouraging season in both the majors and minors.
Because of that and his past experience, the Mets decided to take a chance.
“We’re excited to have Craig,” David Stearns said this week. “This is someone who has an incredible amount of experience and success pitching in the backend of bullpens -- we saw him have success in Triple-A and the majors towards the end of last year.
“He certainly looks like he has the ability to get major league hitters out, and we value the wisdom he brings -- having someone like that in camp and potentially on our team, it made a lot of sense to give it a look and give him a chance.”
Kimbrel posted a 3.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 51 strikeouts in 39.0 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last season.
He also put together a scoreless frame in his lone big-league appearance during his brief stint back with the Braves, and allowed just four runs over 13 outings for the Houston Astros down the stretch.
If he can find that same success during Grapefruit League play, perhaps he’ll be able to carve out a role for himself in the Mets’ bullpen to start the season.
Kimbrel certainly feels he has a little something left in that right arm of his.
“I want to go out there and compete and be part of that,” he told MLB.com's Anthony Dicomo. “I’m getting excited just talking about it -- the fact that I still want to do that, there’s no reason for me to be at home watching the game.”
According to Dicomo, Kimbrel added a changeup to his arsenal last year, which piqued the interest of Mets officials.