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The Atlanta Braves did a lot of work to fortify their bullpen this offseason.
The attention goes to the high-profile moves, with Atlanta dishing out a combined $40.25M to re-sign the duo of Joe Jiménez and Pierce Johnson to multi-year deals this offseason and the trade acquisition of lefty Aaron Bummer from the Chicago White Sox in a five-player package. (Johnson is currently on the injured list, dealing with elbow inflammation.)
But another, lesser heralded trade acquisition, is going to come into play. The Braves have announced that reliever Tyler Matzek, the hero of the 2021 NLCS, has been placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Replacing him on the active roster and in the bullpen is Ray Kerr, who is being called up from AAA Gwinnett.
Kerr, 29, was acquired from the San Diego Padres as the key piece in an offseason deal that saw the Braves take on the salary of DH Matt Carpenter, who they later released. In nine games this season for Gwinnett, including one start, Kerr is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. He’s struck out twenty-two and walked five in fourteen innings, allowing five home runs and picking up three saves.
For Matzek, the elbow soreness could explain his struggles to return from Tommy John surgery in late 2022. After having an average fastball velocity of 96.0 mph in 2021, both 2022 and so far this season, Matzek’s velocity has hovered around 94 mph and his stats have taken a corresponding dip: a 9.90 ERA in ten appearances, with eleven earned runs in just ten innings, with three walks and ten strikeouts. He’s thrown two wild pitches and allowed three homers so far, good for an ERA+ of just 43 (as compared to 2021’s 169).
All three of the homers allowed by Matzek have come off of fastballs and opponents are hitting .414 with a .793 slug on the pitch (as compared to his slider, which is allowing a .250 batting average against and a .313 slugging). Hitters have swung and missed just 12.9% of the time against the fastball in 2024, whereas his 2021 amazon was a 22.6% mark. Looking at expected stats doesn’t give much hope that this was just bad luck by Matzek, as his expected batting average allowed off the fastball is still .379 and the expected slugging is .786.
Atlanta’s backdated the transaction to May 5th, making him eligible to return as soon as May 20th.
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Former A's Right-Hander Adds Depth to New York Yankees in Perfect Role
Paul Blackburn is the latest former A's pitcher to end up with the New York Yankees, but he's not going to be called upon to be a key cog in their rotation. Instead, he's expected to pitch out of the bullpen in a long relief role, which will be perfect for the 31-year-old right-hander. After being traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Seattle Mariners, and then from the M's to the A's in the Danny Valencia deal, Blackburn made his A's debut in 2017, putting up a 3.22 ERA across 58 2/3 innings of work. He then struggled for the three straight seasons that followed, working as a depth arm in for the organization and being shuttled between the minor leagues and Oakland. In 2022, after the A's latest tear down, Blackburn began the season as the team's No. 4 starter, and for the first month or so he was putting up a reliable five innings with limited damage against him. By the end of June, he had a 3.12 ERA and a 6-3 record on a club that went on to go 60-102. He was also going deeper into games. He would later be named the A's All Star for the season, but after some struggles following the break, he landed on the IL with right finger inflammation and would miss the rest of the season. That was also the same year that the Yankees acquired Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino at the trade deadline. Blackburn continued to be an effective starter for the A's in 2023 and 2024, putting up roughly league average numbers, but he also missed months of each season with various injuries. He was traded from Oakland to the New York Mets last summer at the Trade Deadline in exchange for right-hander Kade Morris. That injury trend continued into this season with the New York Mets, where he made his season debut on June 2, and got into six games before missing all of July. He was activated on August 13, tossed five innings, giving up a hit, a walk, and two earned runs against the Atlanta Braves the same day, and then was designated for assignment shortly after. The injuries are certainly part of the equation that the Yankees will be dealing with, but if their main priority for him is to eat up a handful of innings when a starter struggles in order to save the rest of the bullpen, he's a great guy for that role. Blackburn has some of that bulldog mentality that a number of former A's pitchers from that run had. He may not have the best "stuff," but he's going to go out there and compete every time he takes the mound. He's going to give his team everything he has that day. In this role, he's also likely to save a number of arms from being overworked down the stretch, too. At 69-58, the Yankees are in second place in the AL East, 4.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays, and currently hold the No. 1 wild-card spot in the AL, with a 1.5 game lead over the Seattle Mariners, who are in the third spot. The Yankees hold a 3.5 game lead over the Kansas City Royals, who are on the outside looking in.
Steelers have major injury concern leaving preseason
The No. 1 priority for NFL teams in the preseason is to get out of the games without major injury. The Pittsburgh Steelers may have failed with that one on Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers. Defensive lineman Derrick Harmon, the team's first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, had to be carted to the locker room with a knee injury while also looking visibly upset as he was taken back. The team announced almost immediately that he would be out for the remainder of the game with a knee injury. Head coach Mike Tomlin provided an update after the game: Defensive line was a top priority for the Steelers this offseason, especially after their playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens where they allowed nearly 300 rushing yards to end their season. Along with Harmon, they also selected Iowa's Yahya Black in this year's class to help try to beef up their line. Harmon is expected to play a major role in this year's defense and was already in a starting position. With star defensive lineman Cameron Heyward holding in as he tries to get a new contract from the team, that puts even more importance on Harmon's ability to make an impact. He has had a strong training camp, and after a quiet first preseason game, he really took a big leap forward in the team's second game, recording a sack against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If Heyward returns, and if Harmon's injury is not serious, the Steelers would have the potential to have a really strong defensive line with those two joining rising star Keeanu Benton. Right now, though, those are a lot of "ifs," especially as it relates to the availability for Heyward and Harmon for the team's season opener.
Bill Belichick takes another shot at Patriots owner Robert Kraft
It is no secret that the relationship between Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft has been strained since Belichick left the New England Patriots. Belichick took an obvious shot at Kraft and the Patriots owner's son, Jonathan, who is the president of the team, during an interview with Ben Volin of the Boston Globe that was published on Thursday. Belichick is preparing for his first-ever season as a college coach with North Carolina. When asked what he has noticed that is different about coaching in college versus the NFL, Belichick insinuated he has enjoyed not having to answer to any members of the Kraft family while doing his job in Chapel Hill. "It’s a much more cohesive, and I’d say unified, view of what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to do it," Belichick told Volin. "It’s a lot of football, and there’s not much in your way. "There’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son. There’s no cap, everything that goes with the marketing and everything else, which I’m all for that. But it’s way less of what it was at that level." Shots fired. There is no way to interpret that other than a criticism of Robert and Jonathan Kraft. Had Belichick left it at not having to answer to a team owner, you could make the case that he was speaking generally about the NFL. The fact that he added in "owner's son" makes it obvious he was referring to his old bosses, as both Robert and Jonathan are hands-on with the Patriots. Belichick is almost certainly bitter over the way his tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season. He coached the Patriots for 24 seasons and won six Super Bowls, so he likely felt he should have been given more time to turn things around in the post-Tom Brady era. The Kraft family preferred to move on after a 4-13 campaign. Though Belichick insists he is solely focused on the upcoming UNC season, this is not the first time in recent months that he has gone out of his way to throw a jab at Robert Kraft.
'Look out for this dude': Former NFL exec has warning about unexpected SEC quarterback
Aaron Rodgers' influence having 'different' type of impact on Steelers
Throughout training camp, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has repeatedly scoffed at the "laughable" notion that he and veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers wouldn't jell. On Wednesday, Steelers reporter Jeff Hathhorn of Pittsburgh sports radio station 93.7 The Fan touched upon Rodgers' influence regarding the team's offense after Smith and former starter Russell Wilson allegedly didn't have the best working relationship last season. "I do think quarterbacks always have some kind of say in the offense," Hathhorn explained during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan, per Jake Brockhoff of Steelers Depot. "But the level of say seems to be different with Aaron Rodgers...If he gets up in a meeting and says, 'Hey, why don't we do this,' it's not gonna be like, 'We're just going to listen to your suggestion and move on.' It's gonna be like, 'Yeah, we'll look into that.'" The Steelers giving Rodgers some control of how the offense will operate is understandable, considering players have "gravitated to" the future Hall of Famer since he officially joined the club in June. The 41-year-old has taken younger Steelers players, such as wide receiver and 2024 third-round draft pick Roman Wilson, under his wing. He also has the support of locker-room leaders such as longtime Pittsburgh defensive lineman Cameron Heyward. "Some of the language they've used, they've altered for Aaron," Hathhorn continued. "I'm not saying they're giving the entire offense over to Aaron. But Aaron has a lot of say." Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger is among those who believe Rodgers' performances in training-camp practices show he could produce a "special" season with the Steelers. Hathhorn shared one way Rodgers could be an upgrade over what Wilson and fellow signal-caller Justin Fields offered the Pittsburgh offense during the 2024 campaign. "Where are the big plays we've seen for the most part in the preseason from the Steelers? The middle of the field," Hathhorn added during his comments. "We've seen them exploit the middle of the field a lot with this group." Rodgers and Smith reportedly kept in touch throughout the spring and during Pittsburgh's summer break. They seem to be on the same page heading into Labor Day, but it remains to be seen how Smith will react once Rodgers begins changing plays at the line of scrimmage during the Steelers' Week 1 game at the New York Jets on Sept. 7.
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