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After a disappointing end to the 2024 season, the Atlanta Braves entered 2025 with high expectations that unfortunately fell short for a variety of reasons. One reason is the lack of depth and consistency on their pitching staff.
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Between Spencer Steed, Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach, the Braves have one of the most talented high-end players in the starting rotation in baseball. However, they couldn’t get a full season out of those arms. Conversely, Bryce Elder led the team in 156 ⅓ innings pitched with a 5.30 ERA. For a team like the Braves looking to climb back into contention in the competitive National League East, that’s not a recipe for success at all.
In terms of the bullpen, the Braves have had plenty of contributors all season long, but outside of Rysel Iglesias on the back end, they have really lacked a real punch. This showed up in the final statistics of the season, with the bullpen ranking in the bottom ten of the league in ERA (4.19), FIP (4.26) and fWAR (1.3). The same goes for combining the bullpen with the starting rotation.
Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias will form one of the best bullpens in baseball
A strong bullpen back end and depth throughout the pitching staff will be critical to success in today’s game. The Warriors are aiming to return to the playoffs and win the division title in 2026, so they prioritized improving both areas this offseason. They took a huge first step in the right direction by signing former Padres closer Robert Suarez to a three-year, $45 million contract.
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Suarez is the best reliever in baseball’s best bullpen in 2025. He saved 40 games for the San Diego Padres, building on a breakout season in 2024. No reliever had more saves (76) over his past two seasons, while he posted a 2.87 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 0.97 WHIP and a .201 batting average.
While Suarez has been one of the best closers in the game over the past two seasons, Suarez is expected to move into the eighth inning, leaving Raisel Iglesias to continue as Atlanta’s closer. With that said, the Braves now have arguably the best bullpen backend in all of baseball. Along with Edwin Diaz, Suarez and Iglesias are the top two relievers on the open market this winter, and both will be in a Braves uniform this spring.
The market for high-leverage relievers quickly dried up, and other teams in the National League, especially in the East, scrambled to improve their bullpens. The Mets replaced Edwin Diaz with Devin Williams after Diaz fled to Los Angeles, but that certainly didn’t improve New York’s bullpen given Williams’ struggles last year. The Phillies have a lot of question marks in the bullpen outside of JoAnn Duran and Matt Strahm and have yet to add any significant pitchers to their staff.
Only a few teams can match the Braves’ pitching dominance
Health is obviously a very important factor for the Braves’ pitching staff to reach their potential, as it has been their Achilles’ heel the past two seasons, but health aside, their pitching staff now has one of the highest ceilings in the game.
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In the starting rotation, Strider, Sale and Schwellenbach have all shown themselves to be pitchers who can truly win the Cy Young Award. The Dodgers are the only team in baseball that can say the same thing about their rotation. With the addition of Suarez, the Braves also enter rare territory, with the Dodgers arguably being the only bullpen with the high-end talent to match Atlanta’s backend.
With the offseason still far from over, the Braves’ pitching staff is likely not a finished product yet. They don’t have a lot of money to spend on pitching, and there are still some pretty cheap teams on the free agent market. Whether it’s in the starting rotation or adding a rushing arm in the bullpen would certainly put the Braves in a good position to compete at a high level again in 2026. As it stands, they’ll enter 2026 with the best pitching staff in the National League East and one of the best in all of baseball.
