Just one season ago, Kyle Wright lead all of Major League Baseball with 21 wins. In 2023, the Braves was sidelined for the majority of the regular season.
After returning from injury in mid-September, Atlanta was hoping to see their starting rotation improve. In his two late season starts, both against the Phillies, Wright surrendered 10 earned runs in just 7 innings pitched. As the Braves head into the postseason without Charlie Morton for at least the NLDS, the organization has a new plan for Kyle Wright.
Wright will be called upon to make relief appearances as necessary for the foreseeable future. The Braves will have a starting rotation of: Max Fried, Spencer Strider, and Bryce Elder entering the National League Division Series. Atlanta will likely only use this rotation throughout the first playoff series, regardless of how many games it goes.
It is no secret that Bryce Elder has had his fair share of struggles as of late. Likely Atlanta's vision is that Kyle Wright can play the role of long relief pitcher. With the experience of being a starter, longevity would not be an issue and his stuff could be good enough to keep the Braves in a game.
A couple of weeks ago, it was debatable if Kyle Wright was even going to make the playoff roster. Now with the Morton injury and starters like Allan Winans showing they aren't quite ready for October baseball, Wright is needed, just in a different way.
This will be a tough adjustment for a player who finished in the top 10 of Cy Young Award voting just last season. While former starting pitchers always seem to be a prime candidate for long relief work, starting a game and entering a game from the bullpen are two seperate scenarios. Most of the time, pitchers will tell you they prefer one way or the other. Let's just hope Kyle Wright is okay coming out of the bullpen.