Howard Eskin checking in early on a Tuesday morning after a big win by the Phils at Wrigley last night:

Not quite an Eskin bomb, more like a road flare, but he’s got my attention.

After Kimbrel went throughout the winter and start of spring training unsigned, a post-June 1 deal with a contender had become the expectation. Many teams were simply unwilling to forfeit a premium draft selection for two months (at most) of bullpen production at what will likely remain a high monetary cost.

The Phillies should be in the mix for any player that can help the team build on its impressive 28-19 start, and Kimbrel would bolster a bullpen that’s actually been much better than people think. Despite the prolonged absences of Tommy Hunter and David Robertson, the Phillies’ 3.79 bullpen ERA is currently the National League’s third-best mark.

That said, Gabe Kapler turning the ball over to Hector Neris an inning earlier without having to use Seranthony Dominguez for a second inning, as he did in what was almost a disastrous decision last night, could do wonders for everybody’s blood pressure.

As for Kimbrel, he converted 42 of 47 save opportunities last season with the World Champion Red Sox. In 63 appearances, the seven-time all-star posted a 2.74 ERA, 13.9 K/9, and 0.995 WHIP. Real strong. But he did struggle in the postseason, allowing seven earned runs in 10.2 innings of work.

Personally, I’m more excited about this becoming a nightly thing down at Citizens Bank Park this summer:

T-shirts would henceforth flow.

Adding a player with Kimbrel’s postseason experience and pedigree would be an obvious boost for the Phils, but do keep in mind that his fastball velo dropped to *only* 97.5 mph last season (down from 98.7 mph in 2017), while his BB% more than doubled, a key reason for what was a career-worst (but still solid) 3.13 FIP.