The Braves haven’t made many free-agent moves this offseason, only spending $3 million in that area. However, there were several worthwhile trades. Sean Murphy headlines the offseason; he’s an elite catcher and just agreed to a long-term deal to stay in Atlanta for his prime years.
There were others, though. Joe Jiménez is going to be someone that Braves fans come to love. He’s a hard thrower with some nasty swing-and-miss stuff and will add to an already dominant relief core.
Moreover, one name that doesn’t get brought up much is former Yankees reliever Lucas Luetge, who the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham described as a potentially valuable under-the-radar move.
“The Braves made a potentially valuable under-the-radar move when they traded two prospects to the Yankees for lefthander Lucas Luetge, who had been designated for assignment. Luetge had a 2.71 ERA the last two seasons for the Yankees and throws a baffling curveball. Luetge also went more than an inning in 16 of his 50 appearances last season.”
Luetge is not your typical hard-throwing reliever like AJ Minter. His pitches sit in the upper-80s with some of the most wicked movement on his curveball and cutter. He’s closer to Collin McHugh, who Braves fans should love for his saucer-esque pitches.
Both pitchers are elite at preventing hard contact, which led to a 2.71 ERA and 2.92 FIP over the last two seasons for Luetge in New York. Last year, he appeared in 50 games while posting a 2.67 ERA and a 3.03 FIP in 57.1 innings. He’s compiled 138 strikeouts in 129.2 innings with New York over the past two seasons, and there’s a chance he will become the next folk hero for Braves Country.
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