Yesterday, two pretty good but unhappy relievers signed for modest amounts in 2025: Mark Leiter Jr. took less than $3 million to pitch in Sacramento, and Hoby Milner took $4 million to rejoin Craig Counsell and play for his sixth big league team. Oh, and the Braves also gave Robert Suarez more than double those two salaries combined over three years.
I won’t go into the differences here because it’s Friday. But I will ask: do the Braves have another reliever with them? Right now there is a front four of Raisel Iglesias, Suarez, Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer – at least in theory. Maybe Joe Jimenez will come back and be effective, who knows at this point. Joel Payamps will likely attempt a relief move and use some rope as he sees fit. Plus, there are a lot of options, starters who have no options (Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz) and guys who might get some relief for various health reasons (Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes). As a result, this seems a bit full, but… once you spend over $40 million on your bullpen, do you get a metaphorical penny or pound?
Several names still available in the relief level include Hunter Harvey, Pete Fairbanks, Seranthony Dominguez, Justin Wilson, Chris Martin, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar and Sean Newcomb. That’s just a scratch on the surface. There are a lot of relievers out there, and given that Leiter and Milner haven’t really broken the bank, a lot of these guys might do even less in that regard.
Anyway, what do you think? For example, will the Braves spend more than $2.5 million on another reliever this season?
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