Robert Suarez is closing in on a return for the Braves, and that’s going to force a roster decision in a bullpen that has mostly been one of Atlanta’s strengths.
The Braves’ relief group has held up better than plenty of other parts of the roster this season. The real problems out there were Aaron Bummer and Tyler Kinley, and both were eventually moved on. The biggest issue in the bullpen has been Suarez’s elbow inflammation, and even that now appears to be trending the right way.
Atlanta’s decision to hand Suarez a three-year, $45 million deal last offseason raised some eyebrows at the time. The Braves were expected to add relief help, but not necessarily to land one of the top bullpen arms available while other needs still lingered. Through his first 31 appearances, that move looked like a strong one before the injury sent him to the shelf.
Now, after sitting out since mid-June, Suarez seems to be nearing the finish line. His bullpen work has reportedly gone well, and he threw live BP on Sunday as the next step. Because he’s a bullpen arm and it’s late in the season, any rehab stint should be brief, which means the Braves will soon have to clear a spot.
The easy part is figuring out where Suarez fits once he’s back. He should slide right back into a high-leverage role with Raisel Iglesias. The harder part is deciding who gets squeezed out.
Iglesias, Dylan Lee, Didier Fuentes, Dylan Dodd, and Brent Suter appear safe. That leaves Ray Kerr, Victor Mederos, and Bailey Falter in the mix. Kerr has the look of a safer left-handed option thanks to his swing-and-miss stuff, while Mederos has brought energy and hard velocity from the right side.
That makes Falter the likeliest name on the bubble. Atlanta acquired him in the Lane Thomas trade at the deadline, but he hasn’t done much since arriving.
If the Braves wanted to be conservative and preserve as much depth as possible, they could send Mederos back down and avoid risking anyone on waivers. But Falter would probably have a better chance of clearing waivers and returning to Gwinnett, while Mederos gives the bullpen more right now.
In a playoff race, that kind of calculation usually comes down to which arm helps most in the moment. If Atlanta wants to keep its bullpen at its strongest, that probably means holding onto Mederos and gambling that Falter can make it through waivers.
Either way, Suarez’s return should give the Braves a real lift. The exact mechanics matter, but the bigger picture is simple: Atlanta is about to have a deeper bullpen at the most important stretch of the season.
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