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Atlanta Braves 2022 Season Review: Raisel Iglesias

By Christian Dart

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 07: Raisel Iglesias #26 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on September 07, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 07: Raisel Iglesias #26 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on September 07, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Alex Anthopoulos cemented his legacy with the Atlanta Braves after his pivotal 2021 trade deadline moves that brought postseason heroes Joe Pederson, Eddie Rosario, and Jorge Soler to Atlanta. Though those moves will forever be mentioned because of the their impact, perhaps his best trade deadline acquisition came in 2022, when AA shipped Tucker Davidson and Jesse Chavez to the Angels for Raisel Iglesias. Raisel Iglesias, the eight year veteran relief pitcher, has had a solid career thus far, but didn’t really come into his own in 2021. Iglesias finished the 2021 season with a 2.57 ERA earning him an 11th place Cy Young finish as well as proving he is one of the best relievers in the game. Iglesias was having a bit of a down year in 2022 before joining the Braves, but he finished the season as one of the most dominant relievers in the league.

How dominant was Iglesias with the Braves?

As mentioned before, Iglesias was not having one of his better years in Los Angeles. Through 39 games and 35.2 innings with the Angels, Iglesias compiled an ERA of 4.04 and a FIP of 3.17. Though those numbers aren’t great, his fantastic two months with the Braves essentially negated the poor performances he had with the Angels and made 2022 perhaps the best season of his career. In just two months with the Braves, the 4.04 ERA and 3.17 FIP he had leaving Los Angeles became a 2.47 ERA and a 2.47 FIP by the end of game 162.

Through 28 games, Iglesias posted a mind-boggling 0.34 ERA and a 1.52 FIP. Those numbers  might seem unbelievable, that’s because they are. From the trade deadline to the end of the regular season, Iglesias was undoubtedly the best relief pitcher in the league. Through 26.1 innings with Atlanta, Iglesias gave up only one earned run and five walks. His WHIP was also a mere .835. To cap it all off, Iglesias’ ERA+ during his time with the Braves in 2022 was a 1203 (yes you read that right). Not only do the counting stats favor Iglesias, so do the advanced stats. His expected batting average, expecting slugging, expected weighted on-base percentage and nearly every other advanced metric were well below league average.

What is the future for Iglesias?

One of the driving factors in the trade for Iglesias was not only the expectation he pitches well in 2022, but also there fact that he had three years of team control after the 2022 season. Iglesias is under contract with the Braves through the 2025 season, which is a huge benefit to Atlanta considering how volatile an MLB bullpen can be. Iglesias will be receiving a salary of $16 million in each of the next three years which is a bit expensive but also more than worth it considering his impact. It’s unrealistic to expect him to give up just one earned run next season but dominance in the seventh or eighth inning from Raisel Iglesias should be the expectation.

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