Craig Kimbrel breaks out new cutter as bid for Mets bullpen spot begins

Craig Kimbrel kicked off his bid for a Mets bullpen spot on Saturday, and he did so with a new weapon in his arsenal. 

Kimbrel had to battle, but worked his way through an inning in a loss to the Nationals. 

The veteran found himself in immediate trouble, as Bo Bichette was beat down the line for a double, then a groundout and sacrifice fly resulted in Washington’s second run of the game.

He lost his command a bit from there, issuing back-to-back two-out walks, but was able to settle down and generated another fly out to escape without further damage. 

Overall, Kimbrel liked how things went.

“It was good,” he said. “Frustrated by the two walks, but other than that I felt pretty good -- it was good to get back out there and compete and get back on the track to where I want to be.”

Though it’s still early, Carlos Mendoza felt there were some good signs from the 37-year-old. 

“Some 92-93, life on the fastball, shape on the breaking ball,” the skipper said. “On the backfields in live BP, the velo was sitting around 88-89, but today, facing the other team, we saw some 92-93 and the breaking ball was there.”

Kimbrel also broke out a cutter for the first time, a new weapon he’s been developing over the last few weeks.

“It’s a pitch I’m trying to mix in,” he said. “Just trying to get guys off my fastball and open up some off-speed opportunities. It’s coming along, how much I’m going to use it -- how well I can command and control it will have a lot to do with that.”