Braves: What Bringing Josh Tomlin Back Means for the Bullpen
The Atlanta Braves had one of the best bullpens in 2020 and hope to again in 2021. But what does bringing back Josh Tomlin mean?
So far this offseason the Atlanta Braves have made a couple of head-scratching moves in the bullpen.
First, they declined the $3.5 million team option on Darren O’Day, which included a $500,000 buyout.
O’Day was really good for the Braves last year and I thought they would bring him back. And they still might. But it seems like a weird move to try and save maybe $1 million.
Especially when you consider that they just spent $1.5 million to bring back Josh Tomlin.
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Don’t get me wrong, I’m Tomlin’s biggest fan and love having him on this team. What he does for a team over the course of an entire season is huge. Having someone that can come in during a blowout and save your key bullpen pieces is huge.
But at the same time, O’Day is a better pitcher than Tomlin at this point.
And I’m not trying to make this a Tomlin vs. O’Day debate — again, I still think both could be back on the team.
However, that bullpen is already getting crowded and I wonder how much more adding they’ll be able to do in the bullpen.
Let’s consider the Braves will likely carry an eight-man bullpen next year. That’s the max you can have with a 26-man roster (5 starters, 8 relievers = 13 pitchers).
That list already includes:
Josh Tomlin
Grant Dayton and Luke Jackson could very well be a part of that list. But that’s six guys who are already pretty much guaranteed to be a part of the Braves bullpen in 2021.
You have to think they’re at least going to go after one of Mark Melancon and Shane Greene.
And honestly, there a lot of good veteran relievers out there on the market this offseason.
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As much as love Tomlin –and I know he does more off the field in helping our pitchers that can’t be quantified — I’m not sure it’s worth giving him a roster spot if it’s going to limit us from making other bullpen moves to make sure we have a dominant bullpen again next season.