The Atlanta Braves have gotten off to rough start this season. They lost the first seven games of the season, and while things have stabilized a bit since, they haven't fully recovered yet. While they've won four in a row after a 7-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night, the Braves still find themselves tied for last in the NL East at 9-13. And even their wins right now don't inspire a ton of confidence in a team that had preseason aspirations of winning the World Series.
The rotation has been ravaged by injury, with both Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Strider currently on the IL. The lineup has stumbled out of the gates, although there have been some signs of life recently. But the single biggest source of anxiety around Atlanta right now has to be the bullpen, which has been a problem spot since Opening Day after Alex Anthopoulos failed to make any significant upgrades over the offseason.
The problem reared its head again on Monday despite the win, with usually reliable closer Raisel Iglesias coughing up three runs in the ninth to turn a comfortable margin into a nail-biter. With the Braves lacking starting pitching depth, they really need their bullpen to be reliable at the backend of games. But they've been the opposite so far, and it could be time for Anthopoulos to take a big swing.
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Braves need to consider trade for closer Ryan Helsley
Iglesias has been inconsistent through his first few outings of the year, just like the rest of the bullpen. Instead of sitting and hoping that the players on the roster will figure it out, the Braves could look to swing a massive trade with the Cardinals to acquire flame-thrower Ryan Helsley.
The Cardinals are seemingly entering a rebuild and Helsley is likely to be traded. The star closer is on the final year of his contract, and Spotrac projects him to sign for nearly $100 million next offseason. This isn't a price the Cardinals are likely to pay, so a trade makes a lot of sense.
The Braves could be the perfect landing spot. While Iglesias is supposed to be one of the best closers in baseball, he hasn't quite shown that this season. The Los Angeles Dodgers have shown everybody that you can never have too much talent in the bullpen, as they have at least four closer-caliber pitchers in their bullpen (Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips).
The Braves need to make a move for a consistent pitcher to close down games. With the offense struggling so mightily early on, Atlanta can't afford to lose games because of bullpen meltdowns anymore. A trade for Helsley would solve some of these issues.