Mets call up nine-time All-Star reliever Kimbrel, DFA Lovelady - ESPN

NEW YORK — The Mets called up nine-time All-Star reliever Craig Kimbrel on Saturday and designated Richard Lovelady for assignment to make room on the 26-man roster.

Kimbrel, 37, signed a minor-league deal with the Mets in January that guaranteed him $2.5 million for the season once added to the active roster. He chose to remain with the organization after not making the Mets' Opening Day roster, though he had a rolling opt-out that allowed him to sign with another club if presented with an opportunity in the majors, according to a source.

«I think towards the end of camp I was feeling pretty good,» Kimbrel said. «It just might have been a little too late. In the last two weeks I've just been focusing on maybe putting on a little bit more weight. I've been in the weight room quite a bit and just continue working on the pitches I've been working on and I've been pretty happy with how they've progressed. The velocity has been pretty good and consistent. The body feels good.»

Kimbrel stayed in Port St. Lucie when the Mets broke camp for the regular season. He appeared in one game for Low-A St. Lucie, tossing a perfect inning with one strikeout. He threw nine pitches and touched 94.2 mph. The Mets are his 10th team in 17 major-league seasons.

«The fact that he decided to stay back, continue to work, continue to get stronger, and waited for his opportunity, he didn't have to do that,» Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. «This is a guy who is well on his way to a Hall of Fame career and he did that. And here he is getting an opportunity. I feel like he still has a lot to offer and [can] help us in a lot of different ways and just excited to have him.»

Kimbel is fifth all-time with 440 career saves, but he'll assume a different