The Night Shift stole headlines during the Braves' run to the World Series in 2021, and it's back and better than ever. In this day and age especially, the bullpen carries a heavy load. The Braves just so happen to have one of the most talented groups in the league.
John Smoltz joined Dukes & Bell to discuss the importance of the unit's depth, but most importantly that the team should strive to maintain it.
The bullpen was a tremendous strength for the Braves last season, but many have talked about how that unit actually found a way to improve this offseason. Alex Anthopolous took a talented group and doubled down on its success. He went out and added one of the most successful closers of this era in Kenley Jansen, a steady middle reliever in Collin McHugh, and another veteran in Tyler Thornburg.
To top off the incredible depth, the group enters 2022 with balance. The hardest job that a baseball manager has is to manage the bullpen and this group affords Brian Snitker the luxury of options. Instead of relying on the same four or five guys throughout the season, Atlanta can flex its muscle by sending out different guys every night without putting too much pressure on any single one. Snitker can mix and match without seeing too much of a drop-off on any given night.
Just think about this: a guy like Tyler Matzek is the closer on the majority of squads, but instead, he's a secondary setup man. That's not normal.
But it's important that the Braves don't push it because "that bullpen will get cut in half if they have to go to the well too often." That speaks to the symbiotic relationship the unit has with its starting rotation.
"Stay with the mold of what (the Braves) created," Smoltz told Dukes & Bell. "If their rotation carries the bulk of the load, then that very deep bullpen can stay deep. For a bullpen to be absolutely lights out you have to have some cushion and those starters have to provide that."
This is the best group in baseball and that's a nice thing to have, but Smoltz added a caveat. "You don't want to lead the league in innings pitched out of your bullpen," he said. "It's a nice thing to win games day by day with your bullpen, but that does its damage by the end of the year."
Fortunately, the Braves have a strong starting rotation that complements their pen. The trio of Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and Ian Anderson are the envy of many in the League. The next step is to continue adding behind them to ensure there's as little drop off as possible in order to keep the stress off of their late inning options.
Do that, and this could be another very successful season.
The Braves showed how valuable a tool the bullpen is on their run to the World Series. Keep the unit at its current level, and they might just be able to run it back.
