Yes, the Atlanta Braves are playing much better baseball of late. If not for a completely unforgivable brain fart from skipper Brian Snitker on Wednesday night, Atlanta would have completed a four-game home sweep of the feisty Cincinnati Reds. While everyone but Snitker knew swapping out the red-hot Eli White for the idea of what Eddie Rosario used to be was a bad move, it is not Atlanta's biggest flaw.
At some point, Atlanta needs to get better in the bullpen. The starting staff has mostly held its own in recent weeks, but it has been the clutch bats in the latter part of games that have helped Atlanta almost climb out of its former 0-7 hole. Yes, the Braves have done damage at home, but you cannot trust a team with a leaky bullpen. That is why it might be time to see what Craig Kimbrel has in store.
The future Hall-of-Fame closer is not what he once was, but he cannot be that much worse than what we have seen out of Raisel Iglesias in recent years. Throughout the Braves' return to prominence, there has never been any point where Braves fans had any faith in the guy handpicked to get a save for Brian Snitker. Iglesias is the new Kenley Jansen is the new Will Smith is the new Mark Melancon.
I am not saying Kimbrel needs to replace Iglesias, but his big-game experience should be valuable.
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It might be time for the Atlanta Braves to finally recall Craig Kimbrel
The Braves enter play on Friday for the first game of their road series at the Pittsburgh Pirates at 18-19 on the season. Eventually, this team will get past .500 and start contending for a postseason berth in the deep National League. They are simply too talented to not be in the mix for it in the end. What I will say though is general manager Alex Anthopoulos miscalculated how effective the bullpen will be.
Getting Kimbrel for cheap, whether or not he is washed, should be used to the Braves' advantage. He was drafted by the team out of community college. He began his illustrious career in Atlanta. While I am not certain if he will be rocking an Atlanta A on his plaque in Cooperstown, the Braves have a better shot than most of the teams he played for. It is all about coming full circle to see this through.
Truth be told, Kimbrel's return to Atlanta may be akin to Tom Glavine's second stint with the team. Reaching into one's past is not always the best idea, but sometimes, your heartstrings get pulled on due to sentimental attachment. What I am getting at is Atlanta has a bottleneck to address. Kimbrel may not be exactly a panacea, but he could provide some temporary to mid-term relief for the team.
The next time the Braves bullpen lets the rest of the roster down, it might be time to recall Kimbrel.