Braves-Mets trade pitch sends $22M World Series champion reliever to Atlanta in unusual move

The Atlanta Braves have one of the best trios in the entire league in their bullpen in Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez, and Raisel Iglesias. The rest of the bullpen has also been very solid for the team.

Suarez and Iglesias pitching in back-to-back innings is deadly, and adding Lee to the mix makes it even more dangerous. At one point, the trio had allowed only three earned runs combined.

“There’s a good chance the Braves could have preserved the 2-1 lead they gained in the fifth had they had their three All-Star caliber relievers -- Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias -- available. The trio has combined to allow three earned runs over 54 1/3 innings,” MLB.com’s Mark Bowman wrote.

The Braves have had some bullpen issues at times. Aaron Bummer was released over a week ago due to a significant drop in performance.

“The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve released left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer and placed catcher Drake Baldwin on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain. Atlanta also activated lefty Dylan Dodd from the 10-day IL, recalled righty Victor Mederos from Triple-A, selected the contract of catcher Chadwick Tromp and optioned right-hander JR Ritchie to Triple-A,” MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams wrote.

When Bummer was released, that left Lee as the only reliable left-handed short-inning option out of the bullpen. Dodd is a lefty, but he has mainly been used in blowout situations. There is belief that Atlanta could trade for former reliever AJ Minter.

“I'll call it now with a $5 bet that the Braves acquire AJ Minter at the deadline in two months,” Battery Power’s Scott Coleman wrote.

Minter was just activated by the New York Mets, which is why a potential trade would be unusual. Division rivals typically do not make deals with each other, but Coleman believes it could still happen.

Minter is on a $22 million deal with the Mets, which could be an acceptable price for the Braves to absorb. Bringing Minter back to Atlanta would give them a strong left-handed option when Lee is unavailable. He is a pitcher who could certainly see time in the seventh inning of close games.

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