Swarzak injury could be big deal for Braves

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Photo credit © Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves placed reliever Anthony Swarzak on the 10-day injured list on Sunday due to shoulder inflammation.

The #Braves today placed RHP Anthony Swarzak on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 29, with right shoulder inflammation and recalled RHP Chad Sobotka from Triple-A Gwinnett.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 30, 2019

Swarzak has been arguably the best bullpen guy since his debut with the Braves on May 22. Atlanta currently has the best bullpen ERA in MLB.

However, Swarzak's impact may have already been felt on Sunday night. The bullpen gave up a two-run lead entering the eighth inning in an 8-5 loss to the New York Mets.

"This is a sentence I did not expect to say in my life, let alone about this Braves season: the Anthony Swarzak injury could really be a big deal for the Atlanta Braves," Andy Bunker said.

The Braves acquired Swarzak from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for LHP Jesse Biddle and RHP Arodys Vizcaino back in May.

"The thing that we had gotten so comfortable with was the middle relief portion of the bullpen, and the guy who's been best is Anthony Swarzak and he's on the injured list for awhile," Andy continued. "Maybe good timing with the All-Star break coming around...maybe that adds another move that has to be made before the deadline."