Time for some much needed Braves roster changes

JR Ritchie paid the price for the abysmal scoring, but it’s not as if he had his best stuff. In fact, he hasn’t really had his best stuff since his MLB debut almost a month ago.

The 22-year-old has managed to survive without getting completely shelled, but he’s been playing with fire every time out, walking batters and hitting even more with pitches. Ritchie has not made it past 5.1 innings in any of his last four starts and has failed to get through 4.1 innings in each of his last two. There’s a lot of talent there, and control was never something he struggled with much in the minors, but it’s becoming evident he could use a little more seasoning in Gwinnett.

The second player we could see off the active roster within the next few hours is Aaron Bummer, and his situation doesn’t carry the same kind of optimism as Ritchie’s.

Bummer relieved Ritchie in the fifth inning. He proceeded to walk five batters, surrender a grand slam, then allow another home run, completely eliminating any chance the Braves had of mounting a comeback. It took him 42 pitches just to complete one inning of mop-up duty.

Despite some fan narratives, Bummer was actually pretty solid for the Braves during his first two seasons with the club. However, he’s lost a ton of life on his pitches, now owns a 7.63 ERA on the season, and can’t even be trusted to cover a couple innings in garbage time to help preserve the bullpen for the following days.

The only reason Bummer has lasted this long into the season is because he’s owed $9.5 million this year. But at this point, it’s a sunk cost. The Braves need to find a better option and stop operating with a short-handed bullpen.