While we’re still waiting for Hot Stove season to really get cranking, the bullpen market is already working overtime this winter, with almost all of the biggest names already finding homes with two weeks to go until Christmas. And few teams have been more aggressive here than the Atlanta Braves: Alex Anthopoulos jumped the market to bring back incumbent closer Raisel Iglesias on a one-year deal that keeps aging better and better, then followed that up by signing former Padres closer Robert Suarez to a three-year, $45 million contract.
Those are two very big names, which Atlanta hopes will combine to form a firewall against the sort of late-inning meltdowns that have plagued this team far too often over the last couple of years. But have the Braves done enough? Is this bullpen makeover already finished, or is there more work ahead if they want to seriously challenge for a World Series berth in 2026?
Braves projected bullpen after adding Robert Suarez, retaining Raisel Iglesias
Role
Player
Closer
Raisel Iglesias
Setup man
Robert Suarez
Seventh inning
Dylan Lee
Middle relief
Joe Jimenez
Lefty
Aaron Bummer
Middle relief
Grant Holmes
Middle relief
Joel Payamps
Long relief
Joey Wentz
The addition of Suarez, along with retaining Iglesias, gives Atlanta a defined one-two punch at the back end of games. Lefties Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer are both solid, veteran options, both of whom are better against lefties without being strictly limited to facing southpaws. Joe Jimenez should return to a middle relief role, provided he returns healthy after injuries sidetracked his 2025 campaign.
From there, though, there’s still much to be determined. Atlanta could dip into its starting pitching depth in order to strengthen the bullpen: With Spencer Strider, Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo Lopez, Hurston Waldrep and Bryce Elder all rotation options (plus more depth potentially coming in free agency), why not bump someone like righty Grant Holmes back to a relief role? And what about Joey Wentz, who flashed when given a chance to start down the stretch of 2025 but probably doesn’t profile as a full-time starter?
The Braves have firepower to protect late leads and plenty of optionality earlier in games. But from this exercise, it’s clear that Atlanta is still just a bit short on impact stuff when compared to their peers in the NL.
Where does new-look Braves bullpen rank among NL contenders?
The Braves don’t project to have a bad bullpen as things stand. But if you were to stack them up among the NL’s World Series hopefuls, it would be hard to put them any higher than fourth or fifth.
Padres are still a cut above
Wild Card Series – San Diego Padres v Chicago Cubs – Game Two | Brandon Sloter/GettyImages
Whatever else you want to say about San Diego’s roster construction right now — and it really does appear to be a mess, without a ton of depth and concerns about payroll — the Padres bullpen remains unimpeachable. Mason Miller is in a class by himself as a closer, and then there’s Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and more behind him.
Atlanta can’t quite compete with that depth, or that high-end strikeout ability. Miller and Estrada are both better than any reliever the Braves currently have on the roster.
Brewers, Dodgers in tier 2
New York Mets v Chicago Cubs | Matt Dirksen/GettyImages
Changes could be coming in Milwaukee, with trade rumors swirling around closer Trevor Megill. But as things stand, the Brewers had the third-best bullpen ERA in the NL last season and project to bring just about all of it back for 2026. Megill and Abner Uribe are both flamethrowers, and there’s seemingly no end to this team’s supply of young arms that could serve as either relievers or starters — from Jacob Misiorowski to Aaron Ashby to Chad Patrick to Robert Gasser and more. That depth, and Milwaukee’s track record here, earns them the benefit of the doubt.
Change has already come to the Dodgers, who once again jumped the market by nabbing Edwin Diaz on a record-setting three-year contract. (When you start each season with playoff odds north of 99 percent and have a human money printer like Shohei Ohtani around, you can splash cash on luxuries geared toward winning in October.) Maybe this feels a bit aggressive, considering how badly L.A. struggled in relief down the stretch of the 2025 season and the fact that Roki Sasaki will be transitioning back to the rotation next year. But I’m banking on a big rebound from names like Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen, and Diaz is probably the best closer this side of Miller. There’s just too much talent here to be ignored.
Braves still have some work to do, but the opening is there
Miami Marlins v Philadelphia Phillies | Isaiah Vazquez/GettyImages
Once you get past that clear top three, Atlanta starts to enter the conversation. Granted, this is as much by process of elimination as anything else: Would-be contenders like the Mets, Cubs and Giants have all shed a ton of relief talent without replacing it as of yet. Still, the Braves should at least be fine in the bullpen, which ironically puts them into a tier with their bitter division rivals.
It’s a bit hard to know what to make of the Phillies bullpen, especially as it compares to Atlanta’s right now. Jhoan Duran is the best reliever on either team, sure, and Jose Alvarado has that kind of upside when he’s healthy and right. You’d certainly take that top two over Iglesias and Suarez. But what about Matt Strahm, Tanner Banks and the rest? How many of Philly’s options do you really trust? There’s a distinct lack of viable depth here, which has me putting the Braves neck and neck at Nos. 4-5 among NL contenders.
Which isn’t such a bad place to be right now, with plenty of time left in the offseason and a lineup and rotation that are both shaping up to be pretty strong (health permitting, of course). Atlanta should still add another arm or two, and there’s a lot of mixing and matching they can do. As long as they’re not actively melting down and costing the team games as we’ve seen in the recent past, there’s no reason why the Braves can’t be back in the thick of the pennant chase in a few months’ time.