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Atlanta Braves free agent profile: Zach Britton

By Benjamin Chase

BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 17: Zach Britton #53 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the ninth inning during a baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 17, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 17: Zach Britton #53 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the ninth inning during a baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 17, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves
BALTIMORE, MD – JUNE 18: Zach Britton #53 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the ninth inning for his 21st save during a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 18, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Orioles won 4-2. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Elite from the ‘pen

Britton’s move to the bullpen was a smooth one, to say the least. He took over as closer during the 2014 season, and by the end of the season, he had made 71 appearances, tossing 76 1/3 innings, with a 1.65 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 23/62 BB/K ratio, and 37 saves.

Using his elite sinker exclusively along with his slider in the bullpen rather than using both a four-seam and two-seam along with a changeup allowed Britton to focus his impressive stuff.

That elite stuff allowed Britton from 2014-2016 to have one of the most elite runs of any reliever in recent memory. Over those three seasons, he made 204 appearances, saved 120 games, and posted a 1.38 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, a 6.9% walk rate, and a 27.1% strikeout rate. He was nearly unhittable.

He was injured in 2017, and though he had a solid season (2.89 ERA over 37 1/3 IP), he struggled to get the ball in the zone and that hurt his strikeout rate and put a lot more hitters on base. Britton eventually lost the closer’s role when he was healthy in 2017.

This past season, Britton tossed 40 2/3 innings between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees, and he struggled again to get the ball in the zone in a similar way to 2017.

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