Plenty of news came out of Atlanta Braves camp yesterday afternoon if you missed it. The biggest, and most unfortunate piece came in the injury diagnosis of primary catcher Sean Murphy. Atlanta's backstop is set to miss four to six weeks with a fractured rib after a HBP the other day.
On the pitching side of things, the news was a bit more encouraging. Atlanta continued to add to their bullpen depth by signing former NL East foe, Hector Neris, to a minor league deal. However, the signing doesn't bode well for the NRI relief pitchers already in camp.
#Braves signed 35-year-old reliever Hector Neris as a non-roster invitee; the righty will be in camp today. Had a 4.10 ERA, 1.399 WHIP in 62 appearances with Astros and Cubs in 2024 (64 Ks & 28 BB in 59 1/3 innings). There are now 49 Braves in camp.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) March 3, 2025
Braves adding Neris doesn't signal confidence in current NRI's in camp
The Braves have a plethora of bullpen arms hoping to crack the 26-man roster at the end of the month. It's a hodgepodge of veterans hoping for a resurgence and not yet established big leaguers. Now that we're more than a couple weeks into spring training games we've seen all of these fringe roster pitchers on multiple occasions by now.
Some have impressed, while others have struggled to find their footing. Bringing in a more recent MLB successful veteran like Neris doesn't invoke a ton of confidence in these in-house relievers battling for a job. Buck Farmer and Rule 5 pick Anderson Pilar both struggled today against the Rays. The other day it was veteran Chad Kuhl, who's since been sent down to minor league camp.
Neris will enter the fray later, but he doesn't have many guys he needs to outperform for a job this spring. On top of that the Braves bullepn is starving for a real contributor from the right-hand side as well. As things stand Raisel Iglesias, Pierce Johnson, and Daysbel Hernandez are the team's only viable right-handed relievers. Meanwhile Aaron Bummer, Dylan Lee, and even Angel Perdomo and Jake Diekman have impressed from the left-hand pitching side this spring. Perhaps Neris is the answer they've been hoping for. First, Neris will have to get ramped up and on the mound before the front office can rest on their laurels.
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