The Braves placed Robert Suárez on the injured list with right elbow inflammation and recalled Hurston Waldrep.
The Atlanta Braves announced they have placed reliever Robert Suárez on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation on Friday, backdated to June 23.
In a corresponding move, the team recalled right-hander Hurston Waldrep from Triple-A Gwinnett and outrighted reliever Carlos Carrasco, as he elected free agency.
On Wednesday, manager Walt Weiss said Suárez’s availability for that night’s game would be a gametime decision, citing the right-hander's forearm soreness that had him unavailable on Tuesday. Suárez did not appear that day and has not appeared in a game since June 19.
Fortunately for the Braves, the results of Suárez’s MRI were clean and only consisted of the inflammation. The hope is that the right-hander can return shortly after the All-Star break.
Suárez has had a minimal workload over the Braves’ past nine games, making just one appearance on June 19 where he had a 28-pitch outing. The blow comes as a big one for the Braves’ bullpen, as Suárez’s dominance in his role has been crucial.
The 35-year-old signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Braves in the offseason, and has surely played up to the deal. This season, Suárez has posted a 0.56 ERA over 32 innings of work, striking out 26 batters.
Towards the end of his tenure with the San Diego Padres, Suárez had cemented himself as one of the league’s best closers. Since coming over to the Braves, he has embraced a high-leverage fireman role, paving the way for Raisel Iglesias to close.
Suárez has thrived at putting out any given fire on the basepaths. He owns an absurd 97.7% left on base percentage, limiting runs at an exceptional rate as an arm the Braves can rely on in jams.
Atlanta’s bullpen has been among the best in the league, as they are currently combined for the second-best ERA in the league. Suárez has played a big part in that, along with multiple other dominant arms in the bullpen.
Along with Suárez, Dylan Lee, Didier Fuentes and Iglesias have combined to be a tandem of undeniable arms in the back end of the bullpen. In the meantime, those arms should continue to take on the high-leverage moments.
Waldrep’s return to the Braves gives the team an arm they can rely on for multiple innings in a long-reliever role. In his last outing in Triple-A on Sunday, he threw 71 pitches, but could very well make an appearance in the team’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants on Friday.
