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Atlanta Braves: What does the bullpen look like next season

By Jake Mastroianni

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 30: Mark Melancon #36 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at SunTrust Park on August 30, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 30: Mark Melancon #36 of the Atlanta Braves pitches in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at SunTrust Park on August 30, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 06: Closer Shane  Greene #19 of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch in the ninth inning during the game against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on September 06, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 06: Closer Shane  Greene #19 of the Atlanta Braves throws a pitch in the ninth inning during the game against the Washington Nationals at SunTrust Park on September 06, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

The majority of the conversation surrounding the Atlanta Braves this season has been about its bullpen, and that will likely still be the case in 2020.

After doing nothing in the offseason after the 2018 season to fix the bullpen, Alex Anthopoulos made a series of moves during the season that will not only help the Atlanta Braves this season but next season as well.

While I was certainly in the group that wanted to bash AA for not making at least marginal improvements to the bullpen during the offseason, I’ve always been one that has said it’s easier to fix a bullpen during the season.

However, I’m not sure AA will be that conservative this upcoming offseason. There are always guys like Jake Diekman, Sergio Romo, and Hunter Strickland that can be signed for cheap.

It would be wise for AA to make a couple of those signings this offseason to give the bullpen some competition.

Even though AA eventually fixed the bullpen, there were a lot of games we let get away early in the season because our bullpen was so terrible. We can’t let that happen again in 2020.

Recently I wrote that there are still a lot of question marks in the Atlanta Braves bullpen when you get past the first three or four guys.

How AA answers those question marks in the offseason will go a long way in determining the Atlanta Braves early success in 2020.

I’d rather not go through another three months where I’m sitting on edge every time our starters hand the ball over to the bullpen.

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