Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Raisel Iglesias Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Much-needed bullpen return looms for Braves

By Caleb Thomas | Last updated 4/28/23

Despite being plagued by injuries at the start of the season, the Atlanta Braves have started out 17-9 and sit atop the NL East standings.

Atlanta activated star centerfielder Michael Harris II from the injured list on Friday morning, and more players look to be on their way back.

Thursday night, Raisel Iglesias made a rehab appearance for Triple-A Gwinnett.

#Braves RHP Raisel Iglesias tossed a scoreless inning on 12 pitches with a strikeout in the first game of his rehab assignment with Gwinnett on Thursday.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) April 28, 2023

The Braves desperately await the return of their closer after encountering bullpen struggles early in the season—Atlanta's 4.09 ERA in the seventh inning or later ranks 19th in the league.

Although Nick Anderson and Michael Tonkin have made significant contributions to the bullpen, the Braves have suffered from A.J. Minter's uncharacteristic decline. Minter has been tagged for 12 earned runs in 13 appearances this season, including 10 in his last five outings.

After the Miami Marlins stormed back in the ninth inning to score five runs off Minter on Thursday, the reliever took responsibility while also remaining optimistic:

A.J. Minter: "I'm gonna be okay. I know this team's gonna be okay. I've been through a lot worse. I know how to handle it. And if it's gonna happen to someone, let it happen to me. We're gonna be just fine."
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) April 27, 2023

It seems likely, considering the Braves setup man posted a 2.06 ERA and 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 2022. However, getting Iglesias back will be huge for a bullpen that has lacked a true closer this season.

When Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos traded Jesse Chavez and Tucker Davidson to acquire Iglesias at the 2022 trade deadline, the former Angel had an ugly 4.04 ERA. For the remainder of the regular season, he was lights out, punching out 30 batters in 26.1 innings while allowing just one earned run.

Iglesias nearly broke ERA+, a scale that adjusts normal ERA for factors like ballpark and league averages. A league average ERA+ is 100. In a Braves uniform, he posted an insane 1227 ERA+.

He's not going to perform like that over an extended period of time, of course, but Iglesias will do wonders to shore up the back end of the Atlanta bullpen.

As Atlanta travels to New York to face off against the division rival Mets, they need all the help they can get. The four-game set against the 15-11 Mets will determine who has control of the NL East entering May.

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