News has come down that featured reliever Luke Jackson is set to miss substantial time as a result of a UCL injury in his throwing shoulder. There's a very good chance that he could miss the entirety of the 2022 season if the Braves opt to pursue a Tommy John surgery, but that remains to be seen.
That said, the Braves will still have one of the best bullpens in Major League Baseball, and that's a tremendous credit to the work that General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has done to build up this unit. Cory McCartney from Talking Chop joined Sam & Greg on Sunday to discuss.
Losing Luke Jackson is going to be tough. He led the bullpen in Wins Above Replacement in 2020 and in ERA in 2021. On top of that, he's considered a leader of that group in terms of performance and energy.
"If you've been around Luke, he always been that heart and soul of this bullpen. He's been one of the fun guys in the clubhouse."
Most bullpens would crumble after losing a guy of that stature and level of experience, but the Braves aren't most bullpens.
"Obviously the depth that they've built up these past couple of months is going to be huge. They brought in Collin McHugh and Tyler Thornburg," McCartney told Sam & Greg. "Along with Will Smith, and obviously A.J. Minter and Tyler Matzek as those set-up roles leading to Kenley Jansen."
Colin McHugh joins the core after successful stints with the Astros and Rays. Tyler Thornburg successfully underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and has had a strong Spring Training throwing 3.2 perfect innings. Kenley Jansen is one of the most accomplished closers of this era and he provides serious closer depth for a team that still features ace closer Will Smith.
There was depth in this unit already, but Alex Anthopoulos has spent a lot of time this offseason continuing to strengthen this bullpen. It's for that reason that you won't necessarily feel like this is such a massive hit.
Worry not Braves fans, because the Night Shift is still a tremendous strength.