Braves Bullpen Becoming a Growing Concern
The Atlanta Braves’ bullpen has yet to hit its stride in the 2025 MLB season. While the team has shown improvement in almost every aspect since their rough 0-7 start, the bullpen continues to struggle.
Heading into Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Braves ranked among the top five in team batting average, home runs, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage since April 4. Additionally, many concerns about the team’s starting pitching have been addressed.
Though Grant Holmes and Spencer Schwellenbach had a rough outing in Arizona, both had several solid performances leading up to that. Schwellenbach, aside from a couple of off days, has looked like an All-Star this season. The only lingering question about the rotation is how soon Spencer Strider can return and how the team will manage until then.
However, the bullpen is becoming an even bigger issue. After Sunday’s game, where left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer gave up two runs, the Braves now have only two relievers who’ve made at least four appearances with an ERA under 3.50. Most of the others have ERAs over 5.00.
Since April 4 – the #Braves' home opener – Atlanta's MLB Ranks:
1st – .456 SLG
2nd – .267 AVG
3rd – 31 HR
4th – 121 WRC+
5th – .339 OBPThe offense owns the third highest fWAR in baseball in those 19 games as well at 4.6. The Braves are 12-7 over that stretch. pic.twitter.com/AqplqQiVRz
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) April 27, 2025
The Braves lost key veterans AJ Minter and Tyler Matzek to free agency this past winter, so it’s not entirely surprising that the team has struggled to find reliable middle-relievers this season. Even closer Raisel Iglesias, who was dominant last year, has had a rough start. Iglesias owns a 6.30 ERA in 10 appearances, and in those outings, he’s already allowed five home runs. To put that in perspective, Iglesias allowed just four home runs throughout the entire 2024 season, covering 69.1 innings.
On Sunday, the Braves fell behind due to a rare poor performance from Schwellenbach and some sloppy defense (ironically, from Schwellenbach himself). Despite that, the Braves rallied, scoring two runs in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to one. They needed a shutout inning from the bullpen to keep the comeback alive. But Bummer allowed two more runs in the bottom of the seventh, putting Arizona back in control. The Braves managed another run in the ninth but couldn’t complete the comeback, losing 6-4.
While it’s unrealistic to expect perfection from the bullpen every time, it’s crucial for them to hold things down when momentum shifts in their favor late in the game. This was evident the night before, when Iglesias blew a save opportunity in the ninth, though the Braves went on to win in extra innings.
In an effort to address the bullpen’s struggles, the Braves will add long reliever Ian Anderson this week in Colorado. However, it’s unlikely that one addition will resolve the issue. The Braves will likely need to continue making moves to shore up their bullpen throughout the season.
Currently, Atlanta’s bullpen is ranked 21st in the league with a 4.32 ERA after one month. While they’ve fared better in other key statistics, their ERA is a sharp decline from last season, when they finished third in the league with a 3.32 ERA.
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