An overview of the Braves current bullpen options and why Daysbel Hernández could become Snitker’s best right-handed option to set up closer Raisel Iglesias.
The Atlanta Braves bullpen situation heading into 2025 could be described with many different words, but after losing a couple of key veterans, “volatile” might be the most fitting at the moment. Joe Jiménez had knee surgery in November that will keep him out until at least July (and possibly for all of 2025), and in what can only be described as “this author’s actual nightmare,” A.J. Minter signed a free agent deal with the New York Mets. Let’s take a look at where things currently stand in Atlanta.
Bullpen as Currently Constructed
Raisel Iglesias is an anchor in the 9th inning, one of the most consistent relievers in the game. The only season in the last ten years that he posted an ERA above 2.75 was the 2019 juiced ball season, which saw four teams finish in the top five all-time for single season HRs (shoutout to the 2023 Braves, inarguably the best HR hitting team in history). He’s also never thrown fewer than 55 IP in any season of his career (excluding the 2020 COVID-shortened year). If you want to quibble with his spot in the bullpen, about the only note you could take down is that he is entering his age-35 season.
Beyond Iggy, you’ve got a lot of upside and even more question marks.
In Pierce Johnson’s first 60 games as a Brave (starting in July of 2023), he was absolutely electric, posting a 1.97 ERA with a sterling 33.6% K-rate. Unfortunately, Johnson completely cratered over the final two months of the 2024 season, putting up a 21.8% K, 11.5% BB, 5.23 ERA, and 5.30 FIP in his final 22 games. Some people have complained that he throws his curveball far too often, but when he struggled in those final two months of the 2024 season, he actually significantly dropped his curveball usage (62.5% CU in August and September, 77.1% CU before then). Anecdotally, it seemed like he lost feel for the curve down the stretch and was forced to throw his fastball more as a result. With Jiménez out, Johnson is the only proven veteran righty to set up Iglesias, so the Braves will be hoping that he returns to form in 2025.
Lefties Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee are both coming off terrific seasons that are backed by largely brilliant careers, but manager Brian Snitker has shown little faith in either of their abilities to handle high leverage innings. Lee had a 2.11 ERA, 3.00 FIP, and 2.57 xERA in 2024, while Bummer had a 3.58 ERA, 2.23 FIP, and 2.80 xERA. However, the only Braves reliever to throw more low-leverage innings than Lee or Bummer was the 40 year old Jesse Chavez, who just signed a minor league deal with Texas.
After the quartet of Iglesias, Johnson, Bummer, and Lee, Daysbel Hernández is probably next in line for high-leverage innings. More on Daysbel later.
To round out the bullpen in its current state, there are three players who need to be on the 26-man roster if the Braves want to keep them in the organization.
Angel Perdomo is out of options. Perdomo, a 6’8” lefty whom the Braves claimed off waivers from the Pirates undergoing Tommy John surgery, was one of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball the last time he was on a big league mound. Out of 527 pitchers to face at least 100 batters in 2023, he ranked 6th in K% and 20th in xERA. He hasn’t pitched competitively in about 18 months now, but the Braves have held onto him for his full recovery, and you can expect him to be on the roster if healthy (even if they decide to give him the maximum 30 day rehab assignment in Triple-A to start the season).
RHP Anderson Pilar was selected in the Rule 5 draft this winter, meaning he needs to spend the entirety of 2025 on the 26-man roster or be placed on outright waivers. He had an exceptional 30.6% K, 5.6% BB, 2.64 ERA, and 2.97 FIP across the three highest levels of Miami’s minor league system last year and certainly carries some intrigue into spring training. Anthopoulos has been excellent at finding value on the margins – we’ll see if Pilar can be the latest such discovery.
Then there’s postseason hero Ian Anderson, who is also out of options. It’s been a rough go for Anderson ever since he threw 5 no-hit innings in Game Three of the 2021 World Series. He struggled mightily for the first several months of 2022, got demoted, and then had to undergo Tommy John surgery at the start of 2023. Over the last three years in the minors, he has a combined 4.28 ERA and 4.69 FIP in 20 starts. With the current roster, both Anderson and Grant Holmes will likely open the year in the rotation, with one of them moving to the bullpen upon Spencer Strider’s return. Should the Braves add another starter this winter, I’d expect them to lean more on Holmes than Anderson, given Holmes’s performance in 2024. This might set up a situation where Anderson becomes the long man in the bullpen, but I also think it’s possible he includes Anderson in some kind of trade package before Opening Day.
Iglesias, Johnson, Lee, Bummer, Hernández, Perdomo, Pilar, and Anderson. That’s a full bullpen. Beyond those, the most interesting depth options are probably Enyel de los Santos (signed to a minor league free agent contract, had a 3.18 ERA and 3.10 FIP as a full-time MLB reliever from 2022-2023 but was awful in 2024), Domingo Gonzalez (on the 40-man, 38.8% K, 2.91 ERA, and 2.75 FIP between AA and AAA last season), and Hayden Harris (lefty, 35.9% K, 4.64 ERA, and 3.56 FIP between AA and AAA last season).
Of the 8 guys mentioned for the big league bullpen, Lee and Hernández are the only ones with options. There’s no chance they option Lee after his exceptional 2024 (and career to-date). As for Daysbel, GM Alex Anthopoulos’s glowing comments about him earlier this offseason make it seem that Atlanta’s intention is to run him out there as a key piece for 2025.
Daysbel Deep Dive
Daysbel was very good in Atlanta in 2024, and that remains true with each layer that you peel back. He averaged 97.4 mph with his fastball and had a 2.50 ERA – excellent.
Going a layer deeper, he balanced out his poor 13.5% walk rate with a 35.1% K and 0 HR allowed in 18 IP – terrific.
A layer deeper… He had a 2.11 FIP and 2.49 xERA – superb.
A layer deeper… He had a 2.7% Barrel% and 27% Hard-Hit rate, both of which would have ranked in the top 20 in the sport if he replicated that over a full season – fantastic.
A layer deeper… He had a 29.7% CSW and 14.5% SwStr, and 35.4% O-Swing, which closely resembled the 2024 per-pitch plate discipline metrics of closers Kirby Yates (1.86 xERA) and Jhoan Duran (2.76 xERA) – wonderful.
And the last layer… he was a standout by Stuff+, a model that rates the quality of a pitcher’s arsenal based on movement and velocity. Stuff+ is usually among the first stats to stabilize (meaning they are significant in a small sample) and is also fairly predictive (most pitchers who are strong in Stuff+ are good pitchers). Among the 656 pitchers to throw at least 10 innings in MLB last year, Daysbel ranked 21st in Stuff+ – incredible.
I’ll leave you with a bonus layer, one that should mostly be ignored (given the teeny sample size and randomness of the sport), but also one that may speak to the closer-like mentality that some have referenced in him). When Daysbel’s number was called in a big spot, he simply dominated. Between his 5 regular season appearances in high-leverage and his one postseason appearance, he went 6.2 IP with 3 hits allowed, 2 BB (one was intentional and the other was to Fernando Tatís Jr. in the playoffs), 0 HR, 0 ER, and 9 strikeouts.
I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel some things.