The Atlanta Braves bullpen will look a lot different in front of dominant closer Craig Kimbrel in 2015. Top set-up man Jordan Walden? Traded to the Cardinals. Reclamation project turned fireballer David Carpenter? Traded to the Yankees along with the promising Chasen Shreve. Reliable waiver claim Anthony Varvaro? DFAed and shipped off to Boston. When you combine those losses with Eric O’Flaherty’s departure to Oakland last winter, the Tommy John surgeries and subsequent non-tenders of both Kris Medlen and Cory Gearrin, and Jonny Venters’ third Tommy John
To replace Carpenter, Walden, and Varvaro, the Braves aren’t doing what former GM Frank Wren did. Wren typically scoured the waiver wire and trade market for buy low candidates – that’s how he acquired Walden, Carpenter, Varvaro, and O’Flaherty. John Hart’s regime is doing things a little differently – they’re paying for veteran bullpen talent and acquiring players with a significant injury history.
Former Brave farmhand Arodys Vizcaino was acquired from the Cubs to fill a hole in the pen. Vizcaino had Tommy John surgery in March of 2012, and was traded to the Cubs as part of the Paul Maholm/Reed Johnson deal. He didn’t pitch at all in 2012 or 2013, but rebounded to throw 46 innings over four levels in 2014, striking out 46 and walking 21. He’s now 24, and any hopes of him starting have gone by the wayside. If healthy, he could serve as a dominant set-up man.
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 02: Manager Bob Melvin #6 of the Oakland Athletics takes the ball from pitcher Jim Johnson #45 taking him out of the game in the top of the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at O.co Coliseum on April 2, 2014 in Oakland, California. Johnson gave up three runs blowing the save and Cleveland won the game 6-4. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Former Orioles and Athletics closer Jim Johnson, coming off of a terrible 2014, was signed to a one-year, $1.6 million deal. Johnson’s 31 and coming off the worst year of his career, striking out 42 and walking 35 in 53 1/3 innings while pitching to an unsightly 7.09 ERA. Many of his struggles came because of an inflated BABIP, an unusually low strand rate, and a walk rate that shot up to the heavens. Atlanta must feel confident in pitching coach Roger McDowell’s ability to turn Johnson back into an effective pitcher.
Former Pirates and Angels reliever Jason Grilli was also brought in, inked to a two-year, $8 million deal. Grilli is 38, and was awful with the Pirates before being dealt to the Angels. After the trade, his walk rate fell and he didn’t allow a home run after giving up four during the first two months of the year with Pittsburgh.
What do all of these moves have in common? The Braves gave up something of value for all three pitchers, be it money ($9.6 million guaranteed to Grilli and Johnson) or a player (Tommy La Stella, traded for Vizcaino). Wren’s MO focused around bringing in bullpen talent without giving up much of anything. After Craig Kimbrel was installed as closer in 2011 following the retirement of Billy Wagner, Wren didn’t dump assets to improve the bullpen. Scott Linebrink cost Wren $2 million and a minor leaguer named Kyle Cofield, who never made it to The Show. George Sherrill cost $1.2 million. Walden was acquired for a broken Tommy Hanson. James Russell was acquired (along with Emilio Bonifacio) for minor leaguer Victor Caratini. The one acquisition that saw Wren give up talent involved sending Cory Rasmus to the Angels for Scott Downs, who threw only 14 innings as a Brave.
ATLANTA – JUNE 25: Closer Billy Wagner #13 of the Atlanta Braves pitches against the Detroit Tigers at Turner Field on June 25, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
That’s not to say that the new Hart approach won’t work out well, of course. Wren’s absurd bullpens during the beginning of his tenure included injury risks and free agents like Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Takashi Saito, Kyle Farnsworth, and Billy Wagner. But they all left town for greener pastures, and the Braves had to start fresh. Instead of going that route again, they rebuilt in a cheaper, less risky way, and it was a smash hit. Selling off the veterans that were about to get expensive in arbitration was the right course of action for Atlanta, but there’s risk in banking on turnarounds from guys like Vizcaino, Grilli, and Johnson. The Braves aren’t going to be very good this year, and guaranteeing innings and money to the two veterans doesn’t seem like a great way to build up the abilities of players like Ian Thomas, Shae Simmons, and Juan Jaime so they’re ready to contribute by the team’s 2017 contention goal.
Essentially, what I’m saying is this – the Braves aren’t doing something bad with their bullpen this winter. They’re doing something different. But in my opinion, it’s unnecessary to dump money on veteran relievers when there are in-house options available that are cheaper and could end up contributing in the long run. The best case scenario with Grilli and Johnson is that they pitch well and are traded at the deadline for a minor leaguer or two. That’s all well and good, but if they struggle or get hurt, neither or which is out of the question, all you’ve done is commit money to lost causes and limit the development time of players that could be key players in the future. The contracts aren’t bad, and the risks aren’t awful – they just seem misplaced considering the construction of the 2015 Braves.
