There are so many different things wrong with the Braves that it’s hard to even begin, but arguably the most glaring is the bullpen, and Alex Anthopoulos’ decision not to bolster that facet this offseason is looking more and more questionable by the day.
Currently, the relief core is without a closer and boasts a 3.86 ERA (17th), 4.12 FIP (20th), and -0.3 fWAR (26th). For a team that has played in the most one-run games in baseball, having one of the league’s worst bullpens isn’t conducive to winning games, as we’ve seen over the last week or so.
Just this week, the Braves’ bullpen blew a six-run lead in the 9th inning on Thursday against the Diamondbacks. They were walked off on a wild pitch in the 10th inning against the Giants on Friday, which was followed by a walk-off two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning on Saturday.
Pierce Johnson was the culprit in a couple of those instances, but he was only in those situations because Raisel Iglesias has been absolutely dreadful and essentially lost the closer job. While the players have to be held accountable to a certain degree, especially Iglesias, Alex Anthopoulos deserves to shoulder the blame for Atlanta’s bullpen.
It’s been an abject failure. Anthopoulos knew Joe Jimenez could miss the entire 2025 season last October. He watched A.J. Minter leave in free agency, and Atlanta’s GM did absolutely nothing to replace them. Those two combined for over 100 innings of high-leverage situations out of the ‘pen, and both had a 2.62 ERA.
That’s such gross oversight, I can’t even fathom what was going on in his brain. Now, some Braves fans might be thinking: Liberty Media has Alex Anthopoulos working on a budget! Well, there are a couple of holes that can easily be poked in that theory.
For starters, the Braves had a $50 million contract in place for Jeff Hoffman. The deal only fell through because of a failed physical. They were also in on Tanner Scott, who signed the largest contract for any relief pitcher this past offseason. The Braves very clearly had money and knew they had a hole in the bullpen. But even if they didn’t have money, relief arms are a dime a dozen. Very good ones can be acquired — whether it be through free agency or trade — without spending top dollar.
The Braves aren’t poor enough to where they can only give out minor-league contracts. That’s a laughable cop out. It was questionable in the offseason, and now it’s cost the Braves 5-10 games already this season. Share of the blame can be portioned out to several people, but Alex Anthopoulos’ negligence deserves the biggest piece of the pie.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
