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Atlanta Braves: What does the bullpen look like next season

By Jake Mastroianni

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 30: Mark Melancon #36 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at SunTrust Park on August 30, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 30: Mark Melancon #36 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at SunTrust Park on August 30, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 05: Chris  Martin #51 of the Atlanta Braves delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning of the interleague game on August 5, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Braves 5-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 05: Chris  Martin #51 of the Atlanta Braves delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning of the interleague game on August 5, 2019 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Braves 5-3. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Who’s gone

AA did a great job of not only trading for guys that will help the Atlanta Braves bullpen in 2019 but in the future as well.

But one of the arms acquired that is not currently projected to be part of that future is Chris Martin.

Ignore what you see on Baseball Reference, when Martin signed his deal to come back from Japan to pitch for the Texas Rangers it was a two-year deal. He will be a free agent after this season.

And then there are three veterans that have come up huge for the Atlanta Braves at times this season that will be gone.

The first is Anthony Swarzak. Despite his late season struggles, he carried the bullpen for a while in the first few months after AA acquired him from the Seattle Mariners.

Jerry Blevins was another under-the-radar move that paid huge dividends as Blevins has been lights out against lefties and is likely to make the postseason roster.

Josh Tomlin came over in Spring Training and has been very valuable out of the bullpen to help eat innings.

But in the end, none of them will be significant losses for the Atlanta Braves in 2020.

Darren O’Day is another bullpen arm that will be a free agent after this season. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re ever going to get to see the real Darren O’Day in a Braves uniform.

Martin is the only one of these guys that will be a big loss for next season as Martin has been great.

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