Latest Braves injury should open door for former rival closer

The Atlanta Braves have been bitten hard by the injury bug this season. Spencer Strider is out for the season, Sean Murphy has been out since Opening Day, and even Ozzie Albies missed some time after fracturing his toe.

Earlier this week Atlanta placed Pierce Johnson on the injured list with elbow inflammation, and now Tyler Matzek joins him with the exact same diagnosis.

It's a brutal blow for Matzek who was struggling in his return from Tommy John Surgery. The southpaw has a 9.90 ERA in 11 appearances, allowing 11 runs on 16 hits in ten innings of work. He was once a key piece to a World Series-winning team but looked like a shell of himself.

While you never want to see anyone get hurt, the Braves hope that this can act as a bit of a reset for the struggling Matzek. While they promoted Ray Kerr to take his place, Atlanta should seriously consider giving former star closer Ken Giles a shot at some point.

Latest Braves injury should open the door for Ken Giles down the road

Kerr makes sense as a short-term replacement for Matzek. Atlanta acquired him over the offseason, he's left-handed like Matzek, and was already on the 40-man roster. Giles, however, offers a ton of intrigue in his own right.

The right-hander was at one point in time among the best relievers in all of baseball. He began his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta's biggest rival, and was lights out, posting a sub-2.00 ERA primarily in a set-up role over his two seasons there. He took over as Philadelphia's closer down the stretch in 2015 after they traded Jonathan Papelbon and was a dominant closer for several years after that.

Giles was the Houston Astros' closer in their 2017 World Series run and also saved plenty of games for the Toronto Blue Jays. Unfortunately, he has just nine MLB appearances since 2020 and didn't pitch in the majors at all in 2023 as he has dealt with a bevy of injuries.

The Braves gave Giles a shot this offseason, inking him to a minor league deal, and all he's done since is impress. He pitched really well in Spring Training to the point where it felt like he nearly made the team. So far for AAA Gwinnett, he has a 2.45 ERA in 10 appearances and 11 innings pitched.

The Braves should want to see more of Giles before buying that he's ready to pitch at the MLB level, but what he's done since the team signed him is tough to ignore. Kerr is a fine solution for now, but if Giles continues to pitch well, the Braves should give him a look.