Atlanta Braves Acquire Reliever Chris Martin From Rangers in Deadline Deal

The Atlanta Braves finally made a move acquiring Chris Martin from the Rangers in exchange for Kolby Allard. The move is a solid one, though it far from fixes all of the Braves bullpen and roster issues.

Chris Martin will soon join the Atlanta Braves bullpen and should soon get a shot at the closer’s role.  Atlanta has been waiting for something just like this to help their failing bullpen. Martin will help to stabilize the pen though he will far from fix all of the roster’s issues.

Martin is having a solid season with the Rangers after reinventing himself as a reliever. He has posted a 3.08 ERA this season with 4-saves on the year.

It is hard to see the Braves using Martin in any role other than the closer’s role if they don’t add another late inning arm.

Luke Jackson has been terrible in recent weeks struggling to find outs in even blowout games. Having him as the closer for a postseason team isn’t going to be a valid option long term.

Chris Martin is a solid addition considering the price. Allard has struggled in triple-A so far and lacks the size or velocity needed to succeed at the big league level. While he is still very young and could turn into a decent rotation piece Atlanta’s window to win is now.

If they want to capitalize on that window this won’t be their last move in the next few hours. Atlanta still badly needs a starter and could use a depth outfielder to replace the struggling Austin Riley.

If they opt to stick with their current roster there should be a lot of concerns as to whether or not they can be postseason contenders without a true ace or a closer they can count on. Pieces the rest of the postseason field will seemingly have.