Next man up
The Braves have had six relievers attempt a save this season, at least by MLB definition. I don’t know that there have been six that have pitched with a lead in the ninth. Raisel Iglesias is sporting a 6.75 ERA, Daysbel Hernandez is on the IL, Pierce Johnson went kablooey yesterday, Dylan Lee has three blown saves, Enyel De Los Santos says hi, and Hector Neris is trying to pick up the pieces with the Angels. One man that they haven’t tried is Aaron Bummer. What’s that you say, he’s the best reliever this year? Hmmm…
Aaron Bummer has the best FIP- by 31 points, hasn’t allowed a home run, and still has the best xFIP- anyway of all Braves relievers with 10 innings. The help wanted sign has been on the door for at least 3 weeks now. The Braves are 10 for 21 closing games this season. Holy Dale Murphy. The closer depth chart looked like this to start the season:
- Raisel Iglesias
- Daysbel Hernandez
- Hector Neris
- Raisel Iglesias again
- Pierce Johnson
- Jesse Chavez
- Dylan Lee
- Alejandro Peña
- Craig Kimbrel
- Lesiar Iglesias
- Wander Suero
So how long until Aaron Bummer gets an opportunity to close? I think it’s when every other reliever lights themselves on fire first. The Braves are on track for 46 one-run losses this season. The 2022 Marlins lost 40, and that’s the closest any team has come this millennium. He’s only the best option right now. I would say he can’t do any worse, but I think he might take it as a challenge.