Atlanta Braves fans were greeted Wednesday afternoon by the unfortunate news that their matchup against the Nationals was rained out. While the game will be made up with a doubleheader on September 21, that is little consolation to Braves fans that were looking forward to watching some baseball. However, Atlanta's unexpected day off could be a true blessing in disguise for the Braves' bullpen.
Atlanta's relievers have had a tough go of it in 2025. By fWAR, the Braves bullpen ranks just 24th in baseball at a minuscule 0.1 and just ahead of the lowly Marlins. Raisel Iglesias' struggles have been well documented and the Braves only have five relievers that have accumulated 0.1 fWAR or more this season and one of them is Zach Thompson who made two appearances before heading back to the minors.
With their relievers already in a less than ideal position this season, the extra day of rest from the rainout coming off a brutal stretch of their schedule could be exactly what the bullpen needs.
Coming off a long stretch without off days, Braves bullpen likely thankful for an extra off day
From May 2 to May 18, the Braves played 17 games straight without an off day. While long stretches like that are exhausting for everyone, they can be particularly tough for relievers. Not only did Atlanta's bullpen arms make 53 appearances during that stretch (sixth most in MLB) without a day off, but that doesn't even account for guys getting warmed up to enter games and not coming in and not having any days to recuperate.
Now, with being off two of the last three days, it allows the bullpen to reset a bit. Everyone will be available and well-rested (hopefully) going into a tough series against the Padres where the Braves will be looking for a little bit of revenge for their 0-7 start that San Diego had a large hand in.
Rest doesn't help a lack of talent, though, and this is still a Braves bullpen that is going to need real reinforcements before too long. However, for the moment, Atlanta can at least take solace in the fact that who they have in the pen will be well-rested and will have had plenty of time to look at tape and make adjustments as needed.