Braves looking for high-leverage relief help

With the deadline now a day away, the Braves are looking for pitching, with Jon Heyman of The New York Post relaying that help at the back of their bullpen is a target area.

The club in Atlanta is in a stronger position than any other in the majors. They have a lead of 11.5 games in the National League East, while none of the five other division leaders have a gap larger than two games. They are the closest thing to a lock in baseball right now, with a potent lineup that’s strong from top to bottom and a rotation that’s set to see Max Fried come off the injured list soon.

Considering all that, there’s not too much for them to improve, but even the best teams can squeeze in another high-quality reliever. The bullpen in Atlanta is already in strong shape as it is, with their collective 3.67 earned run average the sixth-best in the majors. They’ve recently added Pierce Johnson into the mix but there’s no reason they couldn’t bolster the group even further.

There’s some precedent for the club adding to the top end of their bullpen even when it’s already in good shape, as it was just a year ago that they traded for Raisel Iglesias despite having Kenley Jansen already in the closer’s role. That was a bit of a future-focused move, as Jansen was an impending free agent but Iglesias still had three more years on the deal he originally signed with the Angels. It beefed up the relief corps for the stretch run while also allowing them to fill the closer vacancy before it even became vacant.

Here in 2023, Iglesias has taken a bit of a step backward from his previous work. He suffered a right shoulder strain during Spring Training and began the season on the injured list but was able to return by early May. Since then, he’s recorded 20 saves, posting a 3.69 ERA in 34 appearances. That’s not a disastrous figure, but it’s a drop from his 2.55 mark across the three previous seasons. His 31.1% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate are both strong numbers, but slightly off from his 34.8% and 5.1% marks in that 2020-22 stretch.

Most clubs would love to have an elite reliever like Iglesias, but the fact that Atlanta thinks it can upgrade in this department just goes to show how few holes the club has at the moment. But beyond Iglesias, their other high-leverage relievers also have some question marks. A.J. Minter got off to a terrible start, as he had a 7.43 ERA on May 26. He righted the ship with a 1.56 ERA over his next 20 appearances but then landed on the IL due to shoulder inflammation, just getting activated today. Kirby Yates has a 3.38 ERA but is working around a 13.1% walk rate thanks to a .226 batting average on balls in play and an 87.1% strand rate. Collin McHugh has a 3.98 ERA as his strikeouts have been vanishing, punching out 16% of batters this year compared to 28.7% in the previous two campaigns. The club also has Dylan Lee, Jesse Chavez, Nick Anderson and Tyler Matzek currently on the 60-day injured list.

If Atlanta can find an elite arm to add to that mix, there’s some room for improvement. Heyman mentions Josh Hader of the Padres and David Bednar of the Pirates, but both will be hard to pry loose from their respective clubs. The Friars are five games out of a playoff spot but reporting seems to indicate they want to try to go for it rather than give up on their season. Unless they get blown away prior to the deadline, they might just hang on to Hader. The Bucs are out of contention but control Bednar for another three years and he’s a fan favorite, having grown up in the Pittsburgh area.

Scott Barlow of the Royals is probably available but he’s having a down year, with his 5.35 ERA more than double the 2.30 mark he had over the past two seasons. He’s probably been a bit unlucky given his .340 batting average on balls in play and 61.6% strand rate, but his 12.5% walk rate is also a big jump from his 8.4% clip in 2021-22. The Mariners are reportedly willing to listen to offers on Paul Sewald, who has a 2.88 ERA from the start of 2021 to the present, striking out 35% of hitters in the process. The list of trade candidates includes many other potential options, with varying degrees of availability and skill.