The Braves announced some good news, followed by some bad news ahead of their series opener with the Mariners Friday night. Lucas Luetge has been activated from the IL, but in a corresponding move, Dylan Lee was placed on the 15-day IL with shoulder inflammation.
Every team is going to deal with injuries, but I can’t imagine another club being more snakebitten than the Braves through the first couple of months. A critical piece seems to hit the IL every week, sometimes multiple.
Getting Luetge back is a plus. He struggled prior to his injury, but he has a track record of success, posting a 2.71 ERA over his final two seasons with the Yankees. Hopefully, now that he’s healthy, Luetge looks much more like that guy because the Braves bullpen has not been good of late, and the loss of Dylan Lee is only going to make matters worse.
Lee had a tough go of it last time out. Perhaps the injury was to blame, but he’s been arguably the most reliable reliever for the Braves out of the bullpen this season, and his loss is not going to be easy to overcome, especially with Max Fried and Kyle Wright on the shelf. The Braves have had to and will continue to rely on their bullpen more than any other team in the league. Lee is an arm that could consistently give Brian Snitker multiple innings. Without him, the Braves are really going to need their other high leverage relievers–like AJ Minter, Collin McHugh, and Raisel Iglesias–to step up.
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