The Atlanta Braves know their biggest weakness heading into this offseason: the bullpen needs work. And they’re facing a tough decision about closer Raisel Iglesias, who’s hitting free agency after most folks figured he’d be gone months ago.
Earlier this season, the assumption was Atlanta wouldn’t bring Iglesias back. The logic made sense at the time.
“We can’t be sure that Iglesias’ going rate won’t balloon to a point that makes Anthopoulos squeamish. The Braves typically lock up their guys ahead of time to avoid the pricey competition of the open market, so the fact that Iglesias is hitting free agency—even after surviving the trade deadline, against all odds—does not bode especially well for the Braves’ odds of keeping him. After two middling seasons in a row, and with change in the air, Atlanta probably bows out of the Iglesias bidding war early to focus on younger, perhaps internal options,” FanSided’s Christopher Kline wrote.
But now that we’re actually here? Things might be different.
“When Atlanta didn’t trade Raisel Iglesias this season, some fans wondered if this was a sign the closer would stick around beyond this year. Well, he could have been traded and still re-signed this offseason. But now, he could just be re-signed,” Braves insider Bowman wrote.
The way I see it, keeping Iglesias would be the safe play. But there’s another option that’s way more interesting.
The Edwin Díaz Factor
Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic thinks the Braves might swing for the fences and target Edwin Díaz from the Mets. Yeah, that Díaz – the one who just won his third Reliever of the Year award.
“With Raisel Iglesias currently out the door, the Braves will need a new closer. Rosenthal attributed the desire to increase payroll in Atlanta, along with the bullpen being one of the top priorities, as to why Diaz could be a candidate,” SI’s Harrison Smajovitts wrote.
Here’s the thing about Díaz – he’s legitimately an upgrade over Iglesias. That fastball-slider combination is just nasty, and when he’s on, there aren’t many guys in the game who can match his stuff.
What makes this really intriguing is the idea of poaching a closer from a division rival. The Mets and Braves have been going at it pretty hard the last few years, so landing Díaz would send a clear message.
Of course, there’s the small matter of actually convincing him to jump ship to Atlanta. That’s gonna take some serious convincing – and probably serious money too.
All things considered, the Braves are in a spot where they need to make the right call on the back end of their bullpen. Whether that’s bringing back Iglesias or making a splash with Díaz, they can’t afford to get this one wrong.
