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Atlanta Braves trade deadline report card: bullpen rebuild complete

By Fred Owens

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JULY 14: Relief pitcher Shane Greene #61 of the Detroit Tigers throws in the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 14, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JULY 14: Relief pitcher Shane Greene #61 of the Detroit Tigers throws in the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 14, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 22: The Atlanta Braves look forward to the return of Mike Foltynewicz to the starting rotation. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) Foltynewicz #26 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park on June 22, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

The Atlanta Braves entered the trade deadline shopping season with needs in the bullpen and rotation, but things changed quickly with injuries to two key players.

The Atlanta Braves knew early in the year that their bullpen needed help. The struggles of Mike Foltynewicz and a rough patch for both Mike Soroka and Max Fried combined with a bad start from Kyle Wright and two bad outings from Bryse Wilson, forced them to look for an experienced starter.

The role of rotation savior in that period fell to the Braves veteran Julio Teheran.  Teheran’s improved this season over last and he rose to the occasion in two big games over the last week.

Last week’s injury to Dansby Swanson’s heel looks temporary, but Nick Markakis’ broken wrist created a hole in the lineup and on the bench.

Adam Duvall moved up to fill that outfield spot and so far, looks like the player I wrote about when the Braves traded for him last year.

Ender Inciarte reentered the lineup as Austin Riley’s struggles got worse daily. He had a rough couple of games but hit homers on back-to-back nights, and hitting behind Duvall, he looks like second-half-hot-hitting Inciarte again.

Today Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos had to show his team and Braves fans that their leadership really wanted to win.

Deal #1 from Tuesday

Tuesday night the Braves acquired RHRP Chris Martin from the Rangers for under-performing starter Kolby Allard.

Some fans voiced surprise at Allard’s departure, but he failed to live up to his projections and pitched a lot like Matt Wisler. At the deadline, the trade seems a fair swap of players for both teams.

Martin saved four games for the Rangers this season and doesn’t walk batters. Those things made him a good fit for a Braves pen struggling of late and using Luke Jackson as a closer.

For those who asked, here are his no-hit innings pitched %, reliever ERA, reliever ERA+, shutdown, and meltdown inning ratios:

  • NHIP rate 36%
  • RERA    0.34
  • RERA+ 146
  • Shutdown  36.8%
  • Meltdown  10.5%

I wrote about what those stats mean a few days ago. I compared Martin’s RERA to all relievers, compared to closers it’s 94.

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