At the 2019 trade deadline, the Atlanta Braves were clearly a playoff contender. However, that was mainly due to a consistent offense. As a whole, the pitching staff was a roller coaster for the first four months of 2019. With stretches of both dominance and despair, the consistency of both the starting rotation and the bullpen was hard to trust. As a result, general manager Alex Anthopoulos sought stability in multiple transactions.
The end result were the additions of Shane Greene, Chris Martin, and Mark Melancon. While it took of bit of time, this new trio of relief options made a needed positive impact for the Braves, as they became the new back end of the Braves’ bullpen and helped the unit quickly transform from one of the worst to among the best bullpens in baseball.