For the second time this season, Atlanta Braves reliever A.J. Minter is heading to the Injured List with left hip inflammation. This is just another blow for a struggling team wrecked by injuries, but it also might prove the Braves made the right decision this past offseason by not offering the lefty an extension.
To take his place on the roster, the Braves recalled Dylan Lee from Gwinnett.
The #Braves today recalled LHP Dylan Lee to Atlanta and placed LHP A.J. Minter on the 15-day injured list with left hip inflammation.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 12, 2024
Why this injury means the Braves made the right call to not extend A.J. Minter
A.J. Minter has been the Braves most reliable reliever for the last five seasons. Not only has he accumulated the most fWAR among relievers on the Braves, but he's also accumulated the 9th-most fWAR in all of the majors since 2020. His 2.85 ERA in that time is 33rd-best, and 243 innings is 19th-most.
Entering his final year of arbitration, it would make sense for the Braves and Minter to work out an extension prior to him hitting the open market. Although Minter has expressed interest in remaining in Atlanta, he stated at the beginning of the season that there have been no talks.
Since then, Minter has had an inconsistent season, to say the least. While his 2.62 ERA seems right on par for the lefty, his 4.46 FIP is the worst he's had since 2019.
To make matters worse, Minter has struggled with left hip inflammation this season. In May, the 30-year-old missed an entire month after being shut down with hip pain. From 2020-2023, the lefty spent 16 total days on the IL.
Minter has also struggled with velocity declines this season which may coincide with the hip injuries. This might also be the reason behind Minter's skyrocketing home run rate, as the lefty has already matched his 2023 totals for home runs allowed in just over half of the innings.
Minter’s four-seam fastball has been sitting 92-93 mostly and for the season he’s lost more than a full mph on his average fastball pic.twitter.com/oeBUvzjlod
— Stephen (@b_outliers) August 11, 2024
While the Braves haven't announced how long the third-longest tenured Brave will be out, the lefty being on the shelf again for a recurring injury that knocked him out for a month previously will likely hurt him on the free agent market this offseason and might prove the Braves made the right choice to not offer him a multi-year extension.
The Braves will turn to Dylan Lee, who has had an excellent season with the Braves this year and was only in the minors because of his crime of being the only reliever on the team with options. His 2.00 ERA and 3.09 FIP will easily replace Minter's production for the time being.