For a brief moment, it felt like a fairy tale, Atlanta calling up a legend to answer the bell. The crowd buzzed, the narrative practically wrote itself: a nine-time All-Star making his return in a Braves uniform, ready to rescue a shaky bullpen. But within 24 hours, the dream crumbled. They unceremoniously designated the same arm for assignment that once shut down the league. And if that surprised fans, it didn’t have a similar effect on David Samson, former Marlins president.

Craig Kimbrel, now 37, pitched just one inning for Atlanta after his call-up from Triple-A Gwinnett. He allowed a hit, walked one, and struck out another on just 14 pitches. Then came the whiplash, DFA’d the very next day. This left fans outraged, confused, maybe even heartbroken. But Samson, never one to sugarcoat, delivered a brutally honest verdict.

“Craig Kimbrel is not a good pitcher anymore,” Samson declared. “When you try to go to the well too many times, eventually the water is stale and stinky.” With biting clarity, he dismantled the romanticism surrounding legacy players, cautioning against the blind loyalty fans often hold toward familiar names. “When it’s a name you used to love, you feel as though that player is the player you’re gonna get. It never works that way.” He isn’t wrong.

Kimbrel had already shown signs of decline. His 2024 season in Baltimore ended with a 5.33 ERA. His stint in Triple-A this year was solid, with a 2.45 ERA in 18 appearances, but nothing screamed dominance. The Braves’ call-up felt more like an act of necessity than faith. And Samson insists Kimbrel knew the score. “You can’t assign Craig Kimbrel to the minor leagues; he’s got to approve any assignment,” he said. “He waived that right when he signed a minor league contract.” So no, Kimbrel wasn’t blindsided.

The DFA wasn’t a betrayal, it was business. The Braves needed an arm, not a legacy. Fans may have wanted a Hollywood ending, but baseball rarely hands out those scripts. Atlanta tried to dip into its past. But in today’s game, sentiment doesn’t save your roster spot. As Samson put it, “He is finished. It happens, Father Time. You win.”

From promise to pain: Braves lose Smith-Shawver to surgery as Kimbrel walks away

Craig Kimbrel’s long-awaited Braves reunion ended with barely a whisper. Kimbrel elected free agency on Monday, closing the book on a comeback that never got past the prologue. His quiet exit came just hours before Atlanta received more devastating news: top pitching prospect A.J. Smith-Shawver had undergone Tommy John surgery.

Smith-Shawver, 21, had become one of the few bright spots in a turbulent Braves season. But after hearing a “pop” in his elbow during a May start against the Phillies, the diagnosis came swiftly, and the prognosis was worse. Dr. Keith Meister performed the UCL reconstruction in Arlington, officially knocking Smith-Shawver out for the rest of 2025 and likely part of 2026. “It was a complete Tommy John, and now he starts the long road of rehab,” manager Brian Snitker confirmed. It’s a gut-punch for a team desperate for rotational stability.

The double blow of losing a cornerstone for the future and waving goodbye to a symbol of the past underscores just how fragile Atlanta’s season has become. Smith-Shawver’s ceiling remains sky-high, Snitker called him “a very young player with a really good career ahead of him,” but that future now comes with a waiting period. And while Kimbrel’s best days were behind him, his departure was a reminder that in baseball, name recognition doesn’t buy you innings.

With the Braves riding a seven-game skid and their bullpen unraveling, Monday’s moves didn’t just trim the roster, they told a larger story of a team running out of both time and options.