MLB Rumors: White Sox fire sale on hold, Braves problem fixed, deGrom replacements

MLB Rumors: Braves A.J. Minter issue has solved itself beautifully

The Atlanta Braves are still rolling. They entered Thursday with the best record in the National League and coming off of two come-from-behind wins over the rival Mets. Moreover, they’ve accomplished all of that success while not being nearly at full strength.

Despite all of the winning in Cobb County, though, one of the biggest early-season concerns was the bullpen, specifically as it pertained to A.J. Minter, one of the late-game arms that the Braves were planning to rely on heavily to anchor the bullpen alongside Raisel Iglesias. Instead, Minter started out the season all over the place.

As of mid-May, Minter had a ballooned 8.05 ERA and was a far cry from the reliable shutdown lefty that the Braves saw last season. And that left Brian Snitker and, more vocally, the fans wondering what the fix would be.

Apparently, he just needed to work through it. As David O’Brien of The Athletic (subscription required) noted, that’s what veteran teammate Jesse Chavez and Snitker both believed and told Minter, and it’s what happened.

Against the Mets in the second game of a three-game series against the rival club, Minter earned a save with a scoreless ninth inning where he didn’t allow a baserunner. That also came one night after he earned a hold against the Mets with another scoreless frame in the eighth inning.

Minter’s season-long ERA still sits at 6.04 but his WHIP has lowered to 1.24 on the year. More notably, he’s had seven outings over the last 15 days, going 6.1 innings with a 1.42 ERA with an 0.632 WHIP. He’s been dominant and, now, one of the biggest concerns for the Braves doesn’t seem like a problem at all anymore.

When you have the talent that the Braves do, it’s funny how things can work out like that.