The Braves Have Built Baseball’s Most Dangerous Late-Inning Duo

The Atlanta Braves are currently boasting the third-best bullpen ERA in MLB at 3.18, according to Inside The Pen, and have thrown the 14th-most innings in the major leagues. Led by relievers Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias, Atlanta's backend duo has been as dominant as any bullpen arm in the league. Suarez has a .81 ERA in 22.1 innings pitched, while Iglesias has an eye-popping 0.00 ERA in 15.2 innings. They have the first and third best ERAs in the NL for relievers, with Mason Miller being the only non-Brave ahead of Suarez. 

The Suarez signing may be one of the bigger free agent signings across Major League Baseball to this point, as Atlanta secured him on a three-year, $45 million contract after Suarez spent four years with the San Diego Padres, debuting in 2022. He was an All-Star in 2024 and 2025, posting ERAs below 3.00, and is on track to have the best season of his career. 

Iglesias started his career with the Cincinnati Reds and was their closer for multiple seasons before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels. An up-and-down career has led him to Atlanta, where he has found consistency at the age of 36. Iglesias has just 13 blown saves over three seasons with the Braves. He recently spent time on the IL due to right shoulder inflammation.

Iglesias’s best pitch is a wipeout slider, but he also boasts a fastball in the mid-90s and a sinker. He throws all of his pitches out of a lower-than-conventional arm slot. Suarez features a fastball that sits in the upper 90s and touches 100 mph, with a sinker that also sits in the upper 90s and can show upwards of 16 inches of vertical break. 

Additionally, it isn’t just Iglesias and Suarez boosting the Braves bullpen, but their sub-1 ERAs obviously draw a lot of attention. Dylan Lee has a 1.11 ERA in 24.1 innings. Reynaldo Lopez and Tyler Kinley are also having respectable seasons with sub-4 ERAs. 

With a bullpen set up for so much success, the trade deadline should be very interesting for the Braves, who can focus their resources on acquiring offensive support. Names like Yordan Alvarez, Jerren Duran, Byron Buxton, and even Mike Trout have been floated as possible trade candidates to watch at the deadline. As Ronald Acuna and Austin Riley continue to hit below .240 with a combined 10 home runs, adding some offense should be in the cards.

Despite back-to-back losses to the Nationals, the Braves are still 8.5 games up on second place in the NL East.