The Atlanta Braves’ recent signing of Robert Suarez has fans reminiscing on fond memories of some of the most dominant bullpens in team history. Suarez will serve in a setup role alongside Raisel Iglesias next season.

This provides Atlanta with one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball. Suarez has the most saves in baseball over the last two years (76), while Iglesias saved 63 games during that time. Between both relievers, they combined for 69 saves in 2025.

Atlanta now has some of the best flexibility when it comes to closing games. They have two extremely capable closers who will be nightmares for opposing batters. There is still work to do to ensure the bullpen is solid all the way through. However, this is certainly a step in the right direction.

While these two are shaping up to be an incredible 1-2 punch, it pales in comparison to what fans experienced during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias are great, but it will be tough to match Braves dominance with Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters, and Craig Kimbrel

The Braves were treated to incredible performances from the 1-2-3 punch known as O’Ventbrel during those seasons. This trio was clearly named after Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters, and Craig Kimbrel.

You couldn’t find a better backend of an MLB bullpen during those two years. In 2011, they achieved an absurd combined 1.64 ERA over 238.2 innings with 96 walks and 290 strikeouts. Kimbrel also earned a rookie single-season record of 46 saves that season.

2011 individual stats:

Craig Kimbrel – 2.5 bWAR, 2.10 ERA, 77 IP, 32 BB, 127 K, 46 SVEric O’Flaherty – 3.3 bWAR, 0.98 ERA, 73.2 IP, 21 BB, 67 KJonny Venters – 3.0 bWAR, 1.84 ERA, 88 IP, 43 BB, 96 K

Kimbrel took a massive step forward in his sophomore season and quickly proved he belonged. O’Flaherty and Venters were both good in 2012 despite a decrease in some of their metrics. This trio was still one of baseball’s best.

2012 individual stats:

Kimbrel: 3.2 bWAR, 1.01 ERA, 62.2 IP, 14 BB, 116 K, 42 SVO’Flaherty: 1.4 bWAR, 1.73 ERA, 57.1 IP, 19 BB, 46 KVenters: 0.4 bWAR, 3.22 ERA, 58.2 IP, 3.22 ERA, 28 walks, 69 K

Opposing teams knew if Atlanta had the lead in the 7th inning, it was game over. They had a very tough hill to climb.

Braves fans may never see a trio like this again. They got pretty close with the Night Shift during the 2021 World Series run. However, it’s tough to think of a better trio than O’Ventbrel. Maybe Atlanta can find it again with Suarez, Iglesias, and one more high-leverage arm.