Phillies’ Craig Kimbrel named NL reliever of the month

Kimbrel appeared in 13 games in June and posted a 0.69 ERA.

Phillies reliever Craig Kimbrel racked up 21 strikeouts to only three walks in 13 innings in June.Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer

Published Jul. 3, 2023, 6:50 p.m. ET

It didn’t come with a grand declaration, but there wasn’t any denying it. Over the last few weeks, Craig Kimbrel pitched so well that he took over the closer role that Phillies manager Rob Thomson purposely left vacant for most of the last year.

The reward came Monday, when Kimbrel was named the National League reliever of the month, Major League Baseball announced.

Kimbrel appeared in 13 games in June and posted a 0.69 ERA. He racked up 21 strikeouts to only three walks in 13 innings and went 5-for-5 in save opportunities, improving to 12-for-12 overall.

Since Thomson took over as manager midway through last season, he avoided naming a closer, preferring to utilize his late-inning relievers based on matchups. He didn’t name a closer in spring training, either, and over the first few weeks of the season, Kimbrel, José Alvarado, Gregory Soto, and Seranthony Domínguez were in the mix for saves.

But Kimbrel, who had closed games for almost all of his career and notched his 400th save in May, began to get the majority of the ninth-inning opportunities while Alvarado missed time with elbow inflammation.

“Right now, he’s the guy,” Thomson said of Kimbrel last week. “There might be a time where we face a lineup where the pockets are so strong one way or the other that he pitches the eighth and Soto or Alvarado pitches the ninth. But we haven’t seen that lately. He’s been really good.”