Braves reliever A.J. Minter is headed for surgery to address a left hip issue, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Snitker did not know whether the procedure will end Minter’s season, but that at least seems in question with less than two months to play.
Atlanta placed the southpaw on the 15-day injured list on Monday. It was the second time this year that a left hip problem had shelved him. Minter missed a month between the end of May and beginning of July. He pitched for six weeks before the injury required another shut down. Minter visited a specialist this week and that examination evidently revealed he’ll need to undergo surgery.
If this does conclude his season, it might also mark the end his tenure in Atlanta. Minter will be a free agent for the first time in his career next offseason. The Braves haven’t been afraid to invest in their bullpen, so perhaps they’ll make an effort to retain him. They already have Raisel Iglesias, Joe Jiménez, Pierce Johnson and (via affordable club option) Aaron Bummer under contract for next year. They’ll also need to make some decisions regarding their rotation and potentially look to upgrade on Orlando Arcia at shortstop.
A second-round pick in 2015, Minter has been one of the better setup options in the league over his career. He had a disastrous 2019 season but otherwise has allowed fewer than four earned runs per nine in every year. Minter has generally pitched in medium to high-leverage spots. He’s had another nice season when healthy, working to a 2.62 ERA across 34 1/3 frames. His 26.1% strikeout rate is down a bit from its 2022-23 level but remains a few points better than league average.
The Braves have Bummer and Dylan Lee as their two southpaws in the bullpen. Bummer has had a strong year after coming over from the White Sox in an offseason trade, striking out 28% of opponents with a 3.74 ERA. Lee has arguably been even better, working to a 1.96 mark while striking out nearly 27% of batters faced across 46 frames. That’s still a good duo, but losing Minter for the stretch run thins the middle innings mix at a time when Atlanta is clinging to a playoff spot. The Braves go into tonight’s matchup in San Francisco with a two-game cushion on the Mets for the final Wild Card position.