The Atlanta Braves have a bullpen battle brewing this spring in North Port. There are a plethora of arms vying for a relief spot. There are a few spots guaranteed but at least three or four spots are yet to be determined.
Rather than adding a big bullpen arm, the Braves decided to go with quantity over quality. They've signed a good bit of minor league contracts to give them depth this year. There are many non-roster invitees hoping to land with the big league club.
However, there are two arms in particular that may have a great chance of making the Opening Day roster. One of them had an excellent 2024 and could be a diamond in the rough for Atlanta. The other is considered a dark horse and surprise everyone by making the cut.
Braves' non-roster invites Jake Diekman and Buck Farmer could answer bullpen questions
The first of the pair is former Reds reliever and Georgia native, Buck Farmer. Last season, Farmer pitched extremely well with a 3.05 ERA over 71 innings, including 29 walks and 70 strikeouts. His 4.00 FIP and less-than-stellar advanced metrics indicate a bit of overperformance. However, his strength was limiting hard contact as opponent's average exit velo was just 88.3 mph.
His remaining metrics are average at best and that explains why the Braves only committed to a minor league contract. Baseball Reference projects Farmer to have a similar season in 2025 with a 3.84 ERA over 68 innings, including 27 walks and 66 strikeouts. There's not a lot of confidence in his ability to have a low walk rate but if he can continue to limit hard contact, he'd be a fine addition to the bullpen.
As for the dark horse candidate, that title lies with veteran southpaw Jake Diekman. Diekman was quietly added as a non-roster invite earlier this month and hopes to bounce back from a rough season with the Mets. The 13-year veteran pitched to a 5.63 ERA over 32 innings with 24 walks and 40 strikeouts.
His stats weren't great but he had decent whiff (28.7%) and strikeout (27.6%) percentages along with a decent grounball rate of 45.5%. Atlanta only has two lefties heading into the season so Diekman has a chance to make the roster should he show promise this spring. He is just one season removed from posting a 3.34 ERA over 56.2 innings with the White Sox and Rays.
It will be interesting to see what the Atlanta bullpen actually looks like once the season starts. Hopefully, Farmer and Diekman can find some magic and help propel the Braves bullpen into one of baseball's best.