In the midst of the news on Bryce Elder’s knee, we also got a pretty significant update on another pitcher who is currently on the road to recovery. Reliever Robert Suarez has been on the mend from some forearm issues for quite some time now and now w’ere starting to get something of a clearer picture about a potential return date for the main set-up guy and part-time closer in Atlanta’s bullpen.
Weiss explained to the media in today’s pregame press conference that Suarez has been doing well in bullpen sessions and that a rehab assignment could be on the horizon. Here’s Friend of the Site Grant McAuley (who has a pretty cool article on Sid Bream currently up on our website) reporting the news via social media:
Assuming that Suarez can clear the hurdle of facing live hitters, news of a rehab assignment would truly be exciting. If all goes well, then Atlanta’s bullpen could very well receive a major bump in quality just in time for the Postseason. Suarez had made 31 appearances with 32 innings pitched and had produced a sparkling ERA of 0.56 (13 ERA-) with a FIP of 2.44 (59 FIP-), combing to form a very nasty 1-2 punch for opposing hitters to deal with both him and Raisel Iglesias at the end of games. Again, the Braves getting him back would be massive for the state of the bullpen heading into the Postseason.
Despite the news about Elder from earlier, there’s definitely some good news on the horizon and with the active squad as well. Ha-Seong Kim is starting to look like a normal baseball player again, Sean Murphy has been getting more-and-more effective with the bat in addition to his contributions behind the plate and the team is starting to take the shape of what it was looking like back when it was constructed during the offseason. It may have taken nearly the entire season but we could see something close to what this team is fully capable of achieving — right in time for the Postseason.
So yeah, hopefully Suarez will continue to hit his marks and recover in smooth fashion without any more setbacks. We’ll see what happens, though!
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