Braves have options, but Grilli gets first chance to reclaim closer role
NASHVILLE -- Jason Grilli was working on an All-Star-caliber first season with the Braves before it came to an unfortunate end as he suffered a ruptured Achilles while trying to cover first.
His 24 saves by the time of that July 11 injury were more than three of the closers who represented the National League. So while Arodys Vizcaino may have stepped in and provided a steady hand over the last two months of 2015, there is no controversy brewing over who will be on the mound in the ninth inning.
"I'm going into spring training thinking that Jason, if he is healthy and has a great spring training or a just a healthy spring training, we'll give him that opportunity," said Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez. "He deserves that. He's earned that."
If anything, the Braves now have depth after Vizcaino converted nine of 10 saves opportunities and from Aug. 1 on had a 1.82 ERA with 29 strikeouts and nine walks. Over his last nine outings, he didn't allow a run and notched five saves in that span.
As John Hart, president of baseball operations, put it, "Vizcaino was nails."
They also bring back Jim Johnson, who struggled after his trade to the Dodgers with a 10.13 ERA in 23 games, but seemed to have found a comfort zone in Atlanta. He posted a 2.25 ERA in 49 games and after Grilli's injury, that ERA shrunk to 0.92 with six saves in seven tries before he was dealt July 27.
The Braves at least have options in the back end of that bullpen, which last season was 29th in the majors with a collective 4.69 ERA and trailed only the Rockies' 4.70. It was also the worst ERA for a group of Atlanta relievers since 1977 and wasn't helped by the fact that the Braves used 34 different relievers -- 19 more than in '14 -- and that included 17 rookies and one appearance from Jonny Gomes.
"It's a good problem to have," general manager John Coppolella said of the depth. "Last season, especially in the second half, you were so worried about who was going to pitch the seventh and eighth inning.
"One of the worst feelings was, in those rare games that we won in the second half, you'd get to the sixth or seventh with a lead and you'd almost be fearful 'Can we hold until the ninth inning?' For us to try to fix the sixth, seventh and eighth is a big factor for us. We have a lot of good, young arms coming through. The best thing we can do is build a killer bullpen to help that."
Grilli, who turned 39 last month, is on track for spring training with no setbacks in his rehabilitation. Except maybe for Hart delivering a hit to his ego.
Hart joked that he reached out to Grilli, when the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright -- five months removed from the same injury as Grilli -- returned to pitch in seven regular-season games and three more in the postseason.
"Grilli thinks he's a tough guy and ... I looked up Wainwright is throwing in the postseason," Hart said. "I texted (Grilli) and said 'Come on, I thought you were a tough guy? Wainwright is already out there dealing and you're back home with you foot propped up."
"He said 'I'm ready to go. I can pitch right now.'"
That could go along way to fixing a bullpen that, from 2011-14, had baseball's lowest ERA. Those groups, like this one has the potential to possess, had both depth and a dominant closer.
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