Underrated Reliever Proves Key in Series Opener Victory Versus Red Sox

The Atlanta Braves made roster moves this offseason to add depth and versatility; one of them paid off last night

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Aaron Bummer has been great after some early season stumbles. / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves were relatively active, for them anyway, this offseason. 

Atlanta made multiple moves on what was already a pretty-set Major League roster, trading for Jarred Kelenic, signing Reynaldo López to be a starter, and spending significant money to bring back relievers Joe Jiménez and Pierce Johnson to multi-year pacts. 

But it’s another offseason transaction that proved to be impactful last night, as the November trade with the Chicago White Sox for lefty reliever Aaron Bummer ended up paying off in Atlanta’s 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox last night.  

Inserted with the bases loaded and only one out in the 6th inning, Bummer just about got out of it unscathed - he got the ground ball for a double play. Unfortunately, it hit him in the leg, bouncing away from the mound and allowing a run to score. 

“I knew if it was one hit straight back at me, I was going straight to home and then I looked behind me and [second baseman Ozzie Albies] was standing right behind me,” Bummer told the media in the clubhouse after the game. “So I was pissed I didn’t get out of the way.”

But the reliever buckled down and got the final two outs on strikeouts of Jarren Duran and Rafael Devers, ending the Red Sox threat and holding Boston to just the one game-tying run. 

I think it was just trusting (catcher Travis d’Arnaud), the fingers that he was throwing down,” Bummer said. “And really just kind of continuing to attack. It was being able to execute pitches in and being able to just continue to execute pitches.”

The faith in the reliever to take care of the mess was something that starter Reynaldo López, who played with Bummer in Chicago from 2017 through last season, has seen play out time and time again in their respective careers. 

“Had the privilege to watch him pitch over the last few seasons. I know what kind of pitcher he is and I know what he’s capable of, and I think that’s who we saw tonight. I think as he continues to pitch and he’ll keep getting more confidence, the pitcher you saw tonight will be the pitcher that you continue to see moving forward.”

That confidence that López is talking about relates to the early season struggles for Bummer, playing in a new uniform for the first time in his eight-year career. He allowed three runs on five hits and a walk over his first two outings, both against Philadelphia in the season’s first series, leaving his ERA at an unsightly 13.50 after 2024’s opening weekend. 

Since then, Bummer’s pitched to a 2.70 ERA with ten strikeouts and only three runs in his last ten innings, with the team going 7-4 in those games. A lot of that is due to groundballs, with Bummer sitting at a 59.5% groundball rate for the season, the highest mark in Atlanta’s pen and behind only starter Max Fried (67%) for the team lead. 

With the injury absences of fellow groundball specialist Pierce Johnson (58.6%) and fellow lefety Tyler Matzek, Bummer’s going to need to continue his excellence for Atlanta’s bullpen to not miss a beat. 

Former division rival Joe Jiménez, who was on the Detroit Tigers when Bummer was on the White Sox, told Justin Toscano of the AJC that he thinks it’s going to continue. “Absolutely. I saw him when I was in Detroit, against Chicago a lot, and I saw him (be) nasty. I saw a pitcher that dominated righties and lefties. I know the pitcher he can be.”