Jason Grilli and Jim Johnson provided some stability as they spent the season's first half capably handling the closer and setup man roles, respectively. But after Grilli tore his left Achilles tendon on July 11 and Johnson was traded to the Dodgers on July 30, the Braves found themselves with a bullpen mix that certainly did not seem to fit Major League standards.
Atlanta used 32 relievers while posting MLB's second-worst bullpen ERA (4.