Craig Kimbrel is back in the NL East. The former Phillies closer is heading back to his original team, the Atlanta Braves, on a minor league contract, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. He’ll make $2 million if he’s in the majors, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports.

Kimbrel, 36, spent the first five years of his career with Atlanta from 2010 to 2014. He finished in the top ten in Cy Young Award voting in four out of those five seasons.

He is coming off of a rough 2024 with the Baltimore Orioles, where he posted a 5.33 ERA in 57 games. Kimbrel, who has 440 career saves, was an All-Star with the Phillies in 2023, but will forever be remembered for his performance in Games 3 and 4 of the National League Championship Series. He was the losing pitcher in both games, giving up a walk-off base hit in the ninth inning of Game 3 and allowing a game-tying two-run home run to Alek Thomas in the bottom of the eighth of Game 4. The next pitcher José Alvarado allowed one of Kimbrel’s inherited runners to score to give Arizona the lead.

He is not the singular reason why the Phillies did not reach the World Series in 2023, but he is symbolic of the overall collapse. For that reason, he is sure to get a warm welcome from fans when he eventually pitches against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Phillies fans that took over Camden Yards last June loudly booed him when he entered the first game of the series.

Kimbrel is one of many former Phillies pitchers in Braves camp. Héctor Neris, who also signed a minor league deal with Atlanta, has a good chance of making the Opening Day roster. Dylan Covey, Jake Diekman and Enyel De Los Santos are also on minor league deals with Atlanta. Diekman and Covey have already been reassigned to minor league camp.