Raisel Iglesias did just enough to earn the save on Saturday afternoon against the Cincinnati Reds, but it was far from comfortable. He entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with a three-run cushion, but that quickly evaporated into a single run after he conceded consecutive one-out home runs to Jake Fraley and Will Benson. Fortunately for Atlanta, he struck out the next two to secure a win.
This has been the story of Iglesias’ season as of late. The veteran closer has allowed seven runs in his last six innings and blown a save in one of three opportunities.
John Fricke is tired of the nerves when the 33-year-old takes the mound in game’s final frame, and he discussed why the Braves should consider reinforcements in the bullpen.
“I know it's a long season, [but] do you know that the halfway mark of the Major League season is next week?” Fricke asked the audience on Sunday morning. “How long into the season do you need it to be? Well, what are you going to do? Well, I'm probably going to make a move.”
The trade deadline is still five weeks away, so for John that means five weeks for him to figure things out and for the rest of the bullpen to get healthy.
“And I know they miss Tyler Matzek and they're missing Jesse Chavez,” he continued. “I get it. And [Colin] McHugh and [Kirby] Yates haven't been what we expected them to be. Yeah, I know. I get it. I mean, both of those guys were supposed to be good. It’s just right now where we are.”
Iglesias was himself a deadline acquisition for the Braves just last year when he was added to replace Will Smith as the team’s primary setup man for Kenley Jansen. He was strong in that role for Atlanta, finishing with a 0.34 ERA, one earned run, and 30 strikeouts in 26.2 innings pitched.
In his 20.2 innings this season, the same cannot be said. While the strikeout rate is consistent, he’s already allowed 11 earned runs and four home runs.
“He’s got to prove it to me! He hasn’t proved anything to me yet,” John said about Raisel Iglesias. “Because right now, after what he went through with [Will] Smith and [Kenley] Jansen, and now it feels like one big, screaming hole on this team has been closer.”
John hopes this is just a blip on the radar, but we have five weeks to find out.