With AJ Minter leaving in free agency and Joe Jimenez out with a knee injury, the Atlanta Braves knew that their bullpen was a question mark heading into camp. Unable to add a premier bullpen arm (or at least unwilling to pay the asking price for one) last offseason, the Braves instead brought in a bunch of guys on minor league deals and have them battle it out. One such arm was veteran reliever Buck Farmer.
On the surface, Farmer seemed to have a strong case. He was coming off a strong season with the Reds where he posted a 3.04 ERA in 61 appearances and he apparently could be had on the cheap. However, Farmer failed to impress in camp and ended up getting sent to the minors to start the season.
After struggling through five appearances down at Triple-A Gwinnett, the Braves decided that they had seen enough and released Farmer according to the transactions log.
Braves Release Buck Farmer https://t.co/Yv3SfTq6vx pic.twitter.com/z3WspACl15
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) April 15, 2025
Braves release Buck Farmer, but they still have work to do getting their bullpen in shape
While Farmer's 7.71 ERA down at Triple-A Gwinnett didn't inspire the most confidence, it is still a bit odd that the Braves took the step to release him this quickly. The most logical explanation here is that Atlanta decided pretty quickly as to which arms could get a shot next and Farmer wasn't on the list. Instead of leaving him to rot in the minors, releasing him now allows him to catch on with another team and not get further exposed with them.
That still leaves the question of the Braves bullpen to consider and that is a bit tougher. Most of the relief corps is pretty well settled into their roles, but Jose Suarez, Zach Thompson, and Enyel De Los Santos are anything but sure things. Spencer Strider's return from the IL is going to threaten someone's roster spot, but all of these guys could get supplanted with fresh meat in the first half even if temporarily.
Given Farmer's experience and recent track record, he is going to get picked up by someone in short order. He is getting a bit long in the tooth and his stuff has diminished, but too many teams need arms right now and he should have multiple decent options to choose from. As for the Braves, let's just hope they made the right choice and have some intriguing bullpen options in the pipeline.