We have spent plenty of time highlighting the hot hitting from Jurickson Profar and Michael Harris II recently, but not nearly enough time has been spent evaluating the rough edges of this Atlanta Braves roster moving forward. The upcoming offseason figures to have plenty of items on Alex Anthopoulos' shopping list and one of those has to be upgrading the bullpen.
Raisel Iglesias is a free agent to-be, and the returning names in Atlanta's bullpen need more help around them. Lost in the shuffle of this out of contention second half for the Atlanta Braves has been one player who has fallen on hard times recently in reliever Dylan Lee. His second half regression has only added to the importance of bringing in more established bullpen arms this winter.
If you go take a quick look at Lee's numbers since the beginning of July, get ready to shield your eyes. Normally a trusted late-inning lefty for manager Brian Snitker, the struggling Dylan Lee is showcasing why a deeper collection of quality relievers in 2026 is a must.
Dylan Lee's horrid second half puts more pressure on the Braves to improve their bullpen this winter
Questions around the 2026 roster may feel a bit premature, but in regards to the bullpen don't really have many internal options they should be banking on next season. Atlanta foolishly expected Daysbel Hernandez to pitch close enough to Joe Jimenez's 2024 level, and they can't afford to make that mistake again.
If the Braves want to make a return to the postseason in 2026 (and actually advance for that matter) reconstructing a dominant bullpen closer to what they had from 2021-2024 is vital. Lee should still be a big part of that despite his struggles in the second half of this season, although the picture is a bit murkier now. Lee was his usual dominant self in the first half, pitching to a 2.55 ERA and 3.28 xFIP. On top of that, Lee is still generating plenty of whiffs, and limiting walks this season.
Unfortunately, Lee's home run rate has spiked since July 1. Entering that date, Lee's HR/9 was a very respectable 1.19. Since July 1, that number has climbed to 3.10 HR/9. It's the biggest reason for his ERA and FIP both climbing above 6.00 since the beginning of July. Every reliever has their cold spells during a season, but the beauty of past Braves bullpens was when a guy was cold you could get him into some more low-leverage situations.
The Braves simply don't have that luxury in 2025 as Dylan Lee, Pierce Johnson, and Raisel Iglesias are clearly the only guys who can handle any sort of high leverage spot. We know Alex Anthopoulos is willing to spend on a bullpen, but this offseason the willingness needs to turn into more of a must get done.