The Atlanta Braves have had a lot go wrong for them lately, and anyone suggesting otherwise is lying. Spencer Strider got hurt again, as did Ronald Acuña Jr., to add to the team's already existing injury woes. Drake Baldwin has exactly two hits in the seven games since returning from the injured list earlier this month to go along with 18(!) strikeouts. Making matters worse, it appears as though something is wrong with the Braves' prized offseason addition, Robert Suarez.
After signing a three-year, $45 million deal with the Braves this past winter, Suarez has been a tremendous asset to the Braves' bullpen. Not only did he fill in at closer ably when Raisel Iglesias was hurt, but Suarez has just been objectively good overall and has given Atlanta the power bullpen arm that they have lacked in years past. Through 31 appearances this season, Suarez owns a 0.56 ERA in 32 innings of work.
However, something has been amiss as Suarez has not pitched much this month. After another heartbreaking loss to the Padres on Tuesday, where Suarez did not appear when he normally would have, Braves manager Walt Weiss revealed that Suarez is dealing with forearm tightness. While he tried to play the issue down, this could be a real problem, especially given the type of pitcher that Suarez is.
Postgame, Walt Weiss said Robert Saurez dealing with some forearm tightness and was not available Tuesday (could be available Wednesday); plan was to use Ritchie-Carrasco to get through seven innings (did not want to use Lee for more than one – which ended up happening anyway)
— Chad Bishop (@MrChadBishop) June 24, 2026
Robert Suarez's arm issues are the latest issue plaguing the Braves during this brutal stretch
After the loss, Weiss was asked about his questionable bullpen usage during the game, and he explained that he only had three relievers available: Dylan Lee, Carlos Carrasco, and Iglesias. That obviously brought questions about Suarez's lack of availability, to which Weiss responded, "It’s some forearm soreness. I know the alarm bells go off when you hear forearm, but we don’t think it’s serious.” Weiss would go on to say that there is a chance that Suarez would be available on Wednesday and that the team thought this was just normal soreness and nothing to be too concerned about just yet.
However, reality paints a different picture. Suarez has only appeared in six games in the month of June, including just once since June 13. Sure, Suarez's last appearance did have him throw 28 pitches (which is a lot for him), but that was back on June 19. If he is still feeling enough soreness to not pitch right now, that doesn't sound like normal soreness, especially for a guy whose calling card is his velocity.
Suarez is not a guy who can dial things back for a few appearances and then go about his business. He is good because he is one of the better power pitchers in baseball, and now his arm is bothering him despite not pitching much lately. That is a genuine problem, even if Weiss is not going to admit it publicly. The current plan is for Suarez to show up on Wednesday and see how he feels, and the Braves can go from there. If he shows up and is still not feeling right, the Braves kind of have to put him on the injured list and bring in another arm just so they can cover innings out of the bullpen.
One hopes that is the worst that things get and Suarez avoids a more serious injury. That said, this Braves team knows better than most that things can, indeed, get much, much worse.
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