The Braves have struggled to find a consistent group of relief pitchers this season. But Braves manager Brian Snitker said he believes the team needs one more reliable pitcher to stabilize the bullpen.
“I think that’s kind if where we are at,” Snitker said before the Braves played the Mets on Thursday. “We are not far off, really. We are looking for maybe one more guy to bridge innings. Three or four of them down there (now) are pretty good.”
After the Mets touched Braves relievers for 11 runs Wednesday, the bullpen’s 5.83 ERA through 26 games was third-worst in the majors and worst in the NL. The .274 opponents’ batting average against them was fifth-highest in the majors and third-highest in the NL.
The Braves sent down Matt Wisler after he gave up three runs in 1 1/3 innings Wednesday. He’s normally a starter but had been added to the bullpen for depth.
Snitker said the bullpen’s issues “get magnified in a game like (Wednesday) night” and attributed much of the problems to a bad outing by right-hander Josh Collmenter, who allowed four runs in one inning. Snitker noted that Collmenter had been effective with four consecutive scoreless appearances (seven innings) before Wednesday.
Left-hander Sam Freeman is the latest reinforcement for the Braves’ bullpen. The Braves promoted him from Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday and Snitker said Freeman, who has been more effective against right-handed hitters over his career, wouldn’t necessarily be used only against lefties.
The Braves also are anticipating the arrival of Mauricio Cabrera, who is on rehabilitation assignment at Gwinnett. The hard-throwing righty made his first appearance for the G-Braves on Tuesday, and if he progresses normally, could rejoin the Braves next week.
At Gwinnett, Lucas Sims and Akeel Morris are among the bullpen options on the 40-man roster.
Sims has a 2.83 ERA in five starts with just 18 hits allows and six walks over 28 2/3 innings. Morris, who recently was promoted from Double-A Mississippi, has a 2.25 ERA in in two relief appearances with Gwinnett.
“There’s a couple other guys down there (at Gwinnett) throwing the ball pretty good,” Snitker said. “It takes a lot of guys to get through a year. It takes a lot of pitchers to get through a major league season. There’s some guys we can go to if need be.”
