The Braves’ pitching staff has been the best in baseball, and that continued over the weekend, as Atlanta took two out of three from the Nationals, despite only scoring seven combined runs.
On the season, Atlanta’s pitching staff ranks 2nd in ERA and WAR, as well as 1st in FIP, xFIP, and K-BB%. It’s remarkable considering the Braves are doing all of this without Spencer Strider, the odds-on favorite for the Cy Young coming into the year, who only made two starts this season.
Reynaldo Lopez has also missed some time, along with Max Fried and a few key pieces in the bullpen. Most recently, the club watched A.J. Minter go under the knife. He will miss the rest of the season with a hip injury that has bothered him for most of the year. It’s a tough blow for the Braves, and probably even more discouraging for Minter, who is in the final year of his contract and was hoping for a big payday this offseason.
Whether that happens now remains to be seen, but A.J. Minter made it very clear where his heart lies ahead of his free agency. He took to Instagram to share some thoughts with Braves Country, ending with “Rehab starts today and my number one goal is to get healthy so that hopefully I can help this organization win another World Series next year.”
AJ clearly wants to stay 🫶 pic.twitter.com/LH2BloF6Cd
— Elaine Day (@elaine_day) August 23, 2024
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.
He’s also been incredibly productive 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.
The Texas native has spent his entire career in Atlanta, and a one-year deal to potentially rebuild his free agent value could make a lot of sense for both sides. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Alex Anthopoulos still gave him a multi-year contract.
Hopefully, A.J. Minter is here to stay.
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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