The Atlanta Braves have some decisions to make.
The highest-profile position battles on the roster are the 5th starter's job and who occupies Atlanta's bench, but just as consequential (or maybe even more consequential than the bench roles) is who fills the remaining slots in the Braves bullpen.
Manager Brian Snitker told the media the other day that it's still up in the air, saying "The long guys and the multiple-inning guys, we’re still discussing that. We’ll let everything play out. But we came in knowing who probably six of the guys were going to be. Nothing has changed. But there’s still a couple of spots that we’ll evaluate.”
Those six pitchers? Closer Raisel Iglesias, LHPs A.J. Minter and Aaron Bummer, and RHPs Joe Jiménez and Pierce Johnson are the first five, owing to a combination of their prior experience and their contracts.
Lefty Tyler Matzek, continuing to work his way back from Tommy John surgery late in 2022, is the most logical assumption for that sixth pitcher.
That leaves two more spots in the bullpen up for grabs - let's pause at the halfway mark in camp to look at the options for those final two:
Lee, who spent most of 2023 pitching through a shoulder injury, was impressive in 2022: 5-1, 2.13 ERA in 50.2 IP w/ 59 Ks to 10 BBs.
Lee being with the team on Opening Day means there's four lefties in the bullpen, but that's not an issue when you open the season in Philadelphia.
The lefty has pitched in 4.1 innings this spring, striking out six. His most recent outing was vs Pittsburgh on Friday, pitching two-thirds of a scoreless inning with one strikeout.
Stephens is another arm trying to get back to 2022 form, pitching in only five games for Atlanta last season after missing four months on the injured list while assigned to AAA Gwinnett. He got only twelve innings for the Braves last season, allowing four runs and striking out eleven, but 2022 was a better season for the righty. That year, he pitched in 53.2 innings with a 3.69 ERA and a 3-3 record, picking up two saves in the process.
Stephens has thrown three innings in Grapefruit League play with five strikeouts, with his most recent outing being a multi-inning appearance. That's the likeliest role for Stephens to fill in 2024, now that Michael Tonkin is with the New York Mets.
The team's reassignment of Ken Giles to minor league camp earlier in the week was a bit of a surprise, but in retrospect, it makes sense. After multiple seasons away from the game, Giles can build back up, work back-to-back days, and prepare for the grind of a full MLB season. I'd expect him to be one of the first guys called up whenever a reliever becomes unavailable.
Other options to come out of Gwinnett include flamethrower Daysbel Hernández and minor leaguers Hayden Harris and Grant Holmes.
Of course, there's also the possibility that Atlanta uses their additional 40-man roster space and claims a player off of waivers as teams begin breaking camp.
“You never know,” Snitker said. “Somebody might make our club who isn’t even in our camp right now. That happens every year, (but) you never plan for that. I love everybody that we have here.”
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