Should the Braves be worried about their closer?
The Atlanta Braves made a handful of roster moves on Tuesday, and the biggest one stings.
The club placed closer Raisel Iglesias on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, backdated to April 20, making him eligible to return on May 5.
Left-hander Dylan Dodd was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill the open roster spot.
What Happened With Iglesias
The whole thing started in Philadelphia over the weekend, when Iglesias was unavailable for Saturday's game against the Phillies after reportedly sleeping on his shoulder wrong the night before.
He came back on Sunday and closed out the sweep with a scoreless ninth, but the results were a little misleading. His four-seam fastball sat at 92.9 mph in that outing, a noticeable dip from his 94.1 mph season average heading into the game.
The shoulder apparently flared up again on Monday, and by Tuesday the Braves decided it was time to shut him down.
Through eight appearances this season, Iglesias had been dominant, carrying a 0.00 ERA with five saves, 10 strikeouts and a 0.52 WHIP in 7 2/3 innings.
Nothing about his performance suggested something was wrong, which is part of what makes the shoulder inflammation a little concerning.
According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, "Raisel Iglesias returned to Atlanta for a MRI that showed no structural damage. The Braves are hopeful his stay on the IL will be a short one. They debated about just resting him for 4-5 days, but didn’t want to go short in the bullpen."
At 36 years old, any shoulder issue is worth monitoring closely, even if Atlanta's early-season success has given them some cushion to be careful.
Suarez Gets the Ninth
The good news is the Braves built in a safety net this offseason when they signed Robert Suarez to a three-year, $45 million deal.
The former Padres closer led the National League with 40 saves last year and has looked every bit as sharp in Atlanta, allowing just one run and seven hits with 11 strikeouts across 9 2/3 innings through his first 10 appearances.
He already picked up a save on Saturday when Iglesias was unavailable, so the transition should be smooth. Moving Suarez from setup man to closer is about as close to a lateral move as the Braves could hope for in this situation.
Murphy and Strider Moving Up
The Braves also transferred the rehab assignments of catcher Sean Murphy and right-hander Spencer Strider from High-A Rome to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Strider threw 3.1 scoreless innings with Rome last Thursday, striking out three on 50 pitches, and manager Walt Weiss said the right-hander will likely need the rest of April before rejoining the big league club.
Murphy, who is working back from hip labrum surgery last September, went 0-for-5 in four games with Rome and still needs to prove he can catch on back-to-back days.
Both players are expected to start for Gwinnett on Tuesday night against Jacksonville, and Atlanta sits at 15-7 with the best run differential in baseball and a five-game winning streak heading into their series at Washington.
Losing Iglesias hurts, but getting Murphy and Strider closer to a return only makes the picture brighter.