3 Braves most to blame for untimely losing skid

2. Raisel Iglesias, RP

There’s a reason that the bullpen has been highlighted all over the place as the one area that the Braves need to address at the upcoming MLB Trade Deadline. Sure, the group as a whole for this season has performed well overall. Injuries are starting to mount, however, with A.J. Minter and Nick Anderson now joining the likes of Dylan Lee and Jesse Chavez on the IL.

Amid these injuries, Brian Snitker would ideally be able to rely heavily on one of his veteran stalwarts at the back end of the bullpen, Raisel Iglesias. But the hot-and-cold play on the mound from the former Angel has continued when the club can ill afford that to be the case.

The most egregious example game in the Tuesday night barn-burner against the Diamondbacks. The 33-year-old righty entered the contest in the top of the ninth with the game knotted at a ridiculous 13-13. Atlanta’s offense had undoubtedly done its part to that point, but they simply needed some help from the pitching staff and bullpen to secure the win.

Instead, Iglesias gave it away, giving up a single, putting another aboard on an error, and then giving up a 2-RBI double and an RBI single to put the Braves in a three-run hole going into the final half-inning of the game. He ultimately recorded just one out, which came after the aforementioned single.

While he did pitch a scoreless frame on July 16 against the White Sox in the 8-1 loss, the fact of the matter is that Iglesias was shelled in the only high-leverage situation that he’s seen on this side of the All-Star break. With the injuries to the bullpen right now, this type of poor performance is something tha the Braves simply can’t take on the chin.