For the vast majority of the season, the Atlanta Braves' bullpen has been one of their roster's greatest strengths. Braves relievers rank fifth in all of baseball by fWAR with 5.0, and their ERA and FIP both rank among the best in MLB as well. Unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worse for Atlanta's bullpen, and the timing is pretty brutal, although help may be on the way (we hope).
In August, Raisel Iglesias posted a 4.50 ERA and 4.68 FIP, and the eye test confirms just how shaky he has been. Dylan Lee has been struggling mightily in the second half and may be tipping his pitches. On top of that, the Braves have had to deal with the absence of Robert Suarez as he deals with an arm injury, although there is a ray of hope with the Braves flamethrower’s health and possible availability.
There has been scant information on Suarez's status for weeks beyond that he was progressing slowly. More recently, there were hints that he could progress in his throwing program to bullpens soon, which would be a huge step forward. Well, word got out that Suarez was going to throw a bullpen on Tuesday, and the results are going to tell us a whole lot.
Braves really need good news from Robert Suarez's recent bullpen session
Here's the truth: the Braves desperately need Suarez to pitch again this season if they want to make a deep playoff run. Atlanta's questionable rotation likely means they will need a lot of help from their bullpen, and their top two healthy arms (Iglesias and Lee) look very vulnerable right now. Without a healthy Suarez, the Braves' outlook gets even more sketchy than it already is.
That places outsized importance on this first bullpen session. If everything went well and he recovers without soreness, the idea that Suarez could actually return before the end of the season seems pretty viable. If he struggled and/or finds that his arm still needs a little more time, there just does not seem to be enough time for him to heal and rehab enough to be ready to return in time. It is just that simple.
So far, we haven't heard anything disastrous about Suarez's bullpen, so that is a good start. Hopefully we get an update soon as to his next steps. For the Braves' sake, those next steps better involve further progression in his rehab, because time is running out.
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