The Braves pitching staff has been plagued by the injury bug all season, and just when it started to feel like everyone was on their way back, their bullpen suffers a massive blow. The team announced Thursday that Nick Anderson has been placed on the 60-day IL with a shoulder strain.
Anderson was having a fantastic comeback year for the Braves after dealing with injuries for most of the last three seasons. He owns a 4-0 record with a 3.06 ERA and had become one of Brian Snitker‘s most trusted set-up options out of the bullpen. Hopefully, it isn’t something that requires surgery, and the Braves are just taking things cautiously with him, given his injury history. But as of now, this looks like a massive blow to his career and the team.
In the short term, the Braves could turn the likes of Dereck Rodriguez or Danny Young for low leverage situations. Perhaps we even see AJ Smith-Shawver get some looks coming out of the bullpen. In the long term, the Braves also expect Dylan Lee and Jesse Chavez to return at some point. However, if Anderson’s injury is serious, and he is to miss the rest of the season, it’s that much more important for Alex Anthopoulos to add a relief arm at the trade deadline.
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