Kimbrel was confirmed as the Dodgers' closer by general manager Brandon Gomes on Friday, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Dodgers intended to go with a committee approach prior to acquiring Kimbrel from the White Sox, and it was at least conceivable that the plan was merely to use Kimbrel as part of that committee. While Kimbrel's 2021 numbers were comparable to those of top incumbent Blake Treinen, he's clearly more comfortable in a traditional closer role. He'll return to that spot after spending the end of last year setting up for Liam Hendriks.