The Atlanta Braves left fans scratching their heads on Saturday morning when the club designated reliever Craig Kimbrel for assignment the day after his 2025 debut. Considering how the former nine-time All-Star closer tallied a strikeout in the scoreless inning he pitched Friday night, the Braves fanbase's frustration has been more than understandable.
Kimbrel's undeserved demotion is just the latest embarrassing decision the Braves' managerial staff and front office have made this season. At least, that was the case until Saturday afternoon.
Braves Claim Struggling RHP Jose Ruiz After Being DFA'd by Phillies
Looking to tinker with a new face in their bullpen for the umpteenth time, the Braves announced that they have claimed veteran right-handed reliever Jose Ruiz off waivers. The nine-year MLB veteran will attempt a fresh start in Atlanta after being DFA'd by the rival Philadelphia Phillies earlier this week.
It'd be one thing if the Braves claimed a promising arm, but that isn't the case. Instead, they've resorted to claiming their NL East rival's used scraps, and that's made worse by Ruiz being one of baseball's worst relievers this season.
Before being unceremoniously dumped by the Phillies, Ruiz went 1-0 with a career-worst 8.16 ERA in 16 relief appearances while allowing 13.2 hits, 3.8 walks, and 1.9 home runs per nine innings pitched. The last straw came when he allowed five earned runs on as many hits across one inning in a 17-7 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on May 31.
Claiming Ruiz during the season he's having is embarrassing on its own, but the Braves' decision is harder to swallow after Kimbrel and Scott Blewett were mistakenly DFA'd within 48 hours of each other. Kimbrel, as mentioned before, pitched well on Friday night while Blewett was 2-0 with a respectable 2.25 ERA before his poor performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.
Unless the Phillies' staff and front office see something in Ruiz that everyone else doesn't, there's no reason he should be on the team while Kimbrel and Blewett (who's been reunited with the Baltimore Orioles) are not.
Whether or not Ruiz eventually turns things around in Atlanta is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that Braves fans are tired of the constant headaches the bullpen situation has produced this season (especially as of late), making it hard to have faith in any move the franchise pulls off going forward.
Hopefully, Ruiz finds a way to prove that the Braves were right to claim him. Otherwise, Atlanta fans might not be able to keep their pitchforks down for much longer.