"The Braves have committed 29 million in 2026 salary to two high-leverage relievers this offseason. Robert Suarez will collect another 32 million (walkout pending) through 2028. That's a lot to allocate to the back end of the bullpen. What does this mean for any more offseason signings? Well, when this front office splashes the cash over relievers it usually means that they found the starting pitching market prohibitively expensive. I don't think this keeps them from making a move at shortstop, though."
"They have the salary headroom to make another deal. But there's also a chance that they watched this bullpen in the late innings in 2025, particularly in the middle part of the year. This is June 3rd, after Rafael Montero was asked to complete the eighth and ninth. This was the next day, when Raisel Iglesias was summoned to hold a one-run deficit."
The Braves committed 29 million in 2026 salary to two high-leverage relievers and Robert Suarez will collect another 32 million (walkout pending) through 2028. Large allocations to the back end of the bullpen suggest that the starting pitching market was deemed prohibitively expensive. The club still retains salary headroom to pursue a shortstop. Late-inning struggles in 2025, notably a stretch from June 1 to July 30 when the team allowed 34 runs in the ninth inning and later, influenced urgency to upgrade late-game arms. The Braves lost four winnable games in the ninth over a week and finished seven games short of the playoffs. Once a bullpen hierarchy is established, reliable late-inning answers become essential.
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