3 massive Braves offseason risks that could come back to haunt them

2. The Braves are counting on an Aaron Bummer resurgence

The Atlanta Braves traded Michael Soroka and more to the Chicago White Sox for Aaron Bummer, a relief pitcher who finished last season with a 6.79 ERA. Of course, ERA doesn't always tell the entire story.

Bummer relies heavily on a power sinker and struggled mightily with his control in the south side of Chicago this past year. He had a 29.2 percent strikeout rate and 13.5 percent walk rate in 2023, a far cry from 2022 and 2021, when he finished with an ERA of 3.14 over 83 innings.

Atlanta has consistently been able to help once-reliable relievers turn around their careers. The one thing Bummer can do is miss barrels, as he ranked in the 99th percentile for that mark in 2023 despite his rough ERA. Bummer's struggles were all about control, something the Braves have experience correcting -- look no further than Pierce Johnson, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Rockies last year.

Bummer is relieved to be playing for an organization with championship aspirations, which should increase his motivation to improve:

"But to come over here, in an organization and clubhouse where there is only one common goal — the one common goal is to win a World Series — it’s pretty awesome. It’s exciting," Bummer said, per David O'Brien of The Athletic.

Of course, the other side of that coin is that Bummer struggles, and forces Anthopoulos to improve his bullpen on the fly after giving up significant assets for a once-great reliever.