The Braves have been hit harder by injuries than any other club in baseball, and the most recent players to hit the IL were Austin Riley and A.J. Minter.
While Riley could return for a potential postseason run, the latter of which was officially shut down for the rest of the season a couple of weeks ago, the Braves announced on August 21.
LHP A.J. Minter today underwent left hip surgery, performed by Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, TN. He will miss the remainder of the 2024 season.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 21, 2024
It’s an unfortunate ending to another impressive campaign for Minter, finishing with a 2.62 ERA and one save in 39 appearances out of the bullpen. What makes it especially tragic is the veteran’s looming free agency.
A.J. Minter has put together an impressive career, even overcoming a demotion to Triple-A Gwinnett at one point. The Braves southpaw has become Atlanta’s most reliable reliever since debuting in 2017, with a 3.28 ERA and 36 saves in 384 games.
Since 2020, he’s been even better, owning a 2.85 ERA and 1.086 WHIP. Suffice to say, his free market would’ve been robust. What makes him even more valuable to prospective clubs is his success in the postseason. Minter has made 20 appearances over the years with Atlanta in the playoffs, putting together a 2.88 ERA, with 13 strikeouts per nine innings.
That kind of swing and miss stuff would be highly sought after on the open market, but the hip surgery puts his free agency in limbo, and it might be a blessing in disguise for the Braves.
Atlanta’s offseason focus will be on the rotation, while the rest of it will be on improving the margins of the lineup and bullpen with so many returning pieces. Alex Anthopoulos has big contracts in Raisel Iglesias, Pierce Johnson, and Joe Jimenez, so there’s some question as to what kind of contract the Braves would be willing to offer A.J. Minter, if one at all, even before the hip surgery.
The reason it may be a blessing in disguise is Minter may be willing to take a one-year deal to return to Atlanta to rebuild his free agent value. He’s still young enough at 31 years old to put together a good 2025 campaign and cash in on a lucrative multi-year deal the following offseason.
He even hinted at a return to Atlanta shortly after it was revealed that he would be shut down for the rest of the season. That wouldn’t have been on the table at all had he finished out the year healthy and entered free agency with another impressive season. It’s unfortunate that this is the situation, but there could silver lining.
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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