The Braves lefty relief help may have already arrived

The Braves bullpen has been the best in baseball, and I don’t even need to look at all of the numbers to make that case. When games are tight, no manager in baseball has a better four-headed monster to turn to than Walt Weiss.

Notable Braves Reliever Stats

• Raisel Iglesias — 20 appearances, 0.87 ERA, 13/13 in save opportunities
• Robert Suarez — 28 appearances, 0.63 ERA, 4/5 in save opportunities
• Dylan Lee — 31 appearances, 1.17 ERA
• Didier Fuentes — 17 appearances, 1.17 ERA, 1/1 in save opportunities

There aren’t four relievers on any other team that can come close to matching that group. Beyond those four, however, there are some minor questions — most notably on the left-handed side.

Dylan Lee has been outstanding for the Braves for years, arguably the most underrated left-handed reliever in baseball and finally getting the recognition he deserves. There aren’t many relievers I’d rather have on the mound with the game on the line, but he can’t be the only reliable southpaw in the bullpen.

Aaron Bummer was supposed to be that guy. Unfortunately, we all know how that went. He appeared in 19 games, posted a 7.63 ERA, and was ultimately released despite the Braves owing him $9.5 million for the season.

That left a void that needed to be filled — one Alex Anthopoulos may address at the trade deadline, or perhaps the answer is already in the building.

Dylan Dodd has had an interesting career trajectory. He surprisingly made the Braves roster out of Spring Training in 2023 as a starting pitcher but struggled, and those issues carried over into Gwinnett through the 2024 campaign. The Braves then chose to make him a full-time reliever last season, and he showed some promise in the role — appearing in 28 games and posting a respectable 3.60 ERA.

Dodd didn’t make the Opening Day roster this season and then landed on the IL, but Bummer’s release handed him an opportunity on a silver platter — and he’s making the most of it, recording a 1.42 ERA, 2.08 FIP, 0.711 WHIP, and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings over his first nine appearances.

The sample size is obviously minuscule, and Alex Anthopoulos could very well still make the bullpen a priority at the trade deadline. There’s no such thing as too much pitching. But Dylan Dodd is proving to be a reliable arm behind the Big Four, and the fact that he’s doing it from the left side makes it that much more significant.