Atlanta Braves will have to make bullpen work without a key piece

The injury bug has hit the Atlanta Braves again as reliever Chris Martin is going to be out for a while.

It was a few days ago that the Atlanta Braves sat Chris Martin down for what appeared to be a nerve issue that manifested itself during an outing last Sunday:

"Martin said he was pulled early in his appearance Sunday in Atlanta’s 2-1 loss to Philadelphia after he experienced a tingling sensation in his fingers, David O’Brien of The Athletic reports."

Reports since then seemed to downplay the issue, suggesting perhaps that Martin just needed a couple of days off.

Today… that changed.

This continues an unfortunate pattern of odd and aggravating injuries suffered by Martin during his tenure with the Braves… the aggravating part being magnified by the fact that he’s been really good when healthy.

This diagnosis of a shoulder ailment certainly could be causing a problem with his throwing fingers, but the bigger picture is the inclusion of that nasty word “shoulder” in the diagnosis.

Shoulder injuries are the bane of pitchers, and while the response today is “10 day injured list”, the reality is very likely going to be a lot longer than 10 days of shelf time for the 34-year-old veteran.

To take his seat in the bullpen, Jacob Webb has been recalled again after having bounced back-and-forth around the Wednesday double-header (he was the designated “27th man”).

While bad news for Martin, it is good for Webb, who may well finally get a chance to show what he can do here in the majors, and some of us have been clamoring for.

As it happens, the Braves appear to have prioritized keeping their relievers without minor league options (Jackson, Dayton) over those with the ability to go back to the Alternate Training Site without having to clear waivers.

While that preserves their places on the roster, it hasn’t been terribly efficient:  Grant Dayton, for example, has faced just 1 hitter thus far.

Still:  we’d much rather have a healthy and productive Chris Martin available… here’s hoping that his rehab is quick and complete… having him back for a playoff run would definitely be helpful.