The once-mighty Atlanta Braves bullpen is not what it used to be. In fact, it’s the exact opposite, proving to be a focal point of the team’s struggles.
Entering Sunday’s action, the Braves had a 4.88 team bullpen ERA, good for sixth-worst in the majors. While that’d bad enough, the five teams even worse in that statistic are the Reds, Tigers, Rockies, Diamondbacks and Twins. To put it lightly, those teams are bad, minus the Reds who the rest of baseball can’t seem to figure out.
The Braves remain lingering around the .500 mark, falling further behind the division-leading New York Mets by the day. Brian Snitker’s team has many, many issues, but the bullpen is arguably the most prevalent. When they screw up, it results directly in a loss by painful fashion.
Atlanta Braves: Bullpen woes holding team back
Per Elias, as reported by Buster Olney, “Atlanta did not lose a game last season in which it held a lead at any point in the seventh inning or later, going 35–0. The Braves have lost nine games this year after they were ahead in the seventh inning or later, most in the NL.”
If the Braves had won all of those games, they’d be leading the National League East. Instead, they’re 5.5 games behind and don’t have a back-end they can trust.
Will Smith has been hot or cold, and the addition of Shane Greene alone was never enough to save this unit. Snitker has no confidence in his ‘pen, and the rotation isn’t competent enough behind Ian Anderson, Max Fried and Charlie Morton to rely on consistently to fill those innings.
Hence, you see the issue. If the Braves bullpen doesn’t improve, they’re done for. It’s as simple as that.