The Atlanta Braves come into 2025 with higher hopes after the way last season ended. The Braves were able to get into the postseason despite season-ending injuries to Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. but they were eliminated quickly in a two-game sweep by the San Diego Padres in a National League Wild Card Series.
While the return of two key players is a big headline, so is the construction of their bullpen. Atlanta has a strong closer in Raisiel Iglesias but lost left-hander A.J. Minter to the rival New York Mets in free agency. To keep the group afloat, the Braves have added seven relievers as non-roster invitees to Spring Training and signed another veteran on Monday.
Braves Add Georgia Native Buck Farmer to Spring Training Bullpen Battle
The Athletic’s David O’Brien reports that the Braves have added Buck Farmer to the team’s non-roster invite list for Spring Training. A native of Conyers, Georgia, Farmer was a former standout at Georgia Tech and has gone on to have an 11-year career in the majors with the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds.
RH Buck Farmer joins an ever-expanding #Braves NRI list. The 33-yo Atlanta-area native (Conyers) and former Georgia Tech standout was a 1.7 WAR reliever last season with Cincy, posting a 3.04 ERA in 61 appearances with 70 Ks, 29 BB and 7 HR in 71 IP. Had 44 Ks in 157 ABs by RHBs.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) February 16, 2025
Farmer’s career started on the wrong foot, posting a 15-21 record and a 5.33 ERA in eight seasons with the Detroit Tigers. But he turned things around over the past three seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, posting a 9-9 record and 3.68 ERA. Farmer went 3-2 with a 3.04 ERA last season, but his metrics may have prevented him from getting a guaranteed deal.
The 33-year-old posted a plus-eight in Baseball Savant’s pitching run value metric last season but he also was average in others including a 29.3% chase rate (56th percentile), a 26.1% whiff rate (53rd percentile and a 23.4% strikeout rate (23.4%). Control has also been an issue with a 9.7% walk rate last season but he’s been able to limit hard contact with an average exit velocity of 88.3 mph and a hard-hit percentage of 35.8%.
While Farmer has a solid resume, he enters a battle royal in the Braves bullpen. Pierce Johnson and Aaron Bummer are Atlanta’s top relievers heading into this season while righties Daysbel Hernández and and Anderson Pilar and left-handers Dylan Lee and Angel Perdomo are projected to make the major league roster according to FanGraphs’ depth chart.
The Braves have also loaded up on non-roster invitees this spring with right-handers Jordan Weems, Enyel De Los Santos, Enoll Paredes, Wander Suero and Dylan Covey, as well as left-handers Jake Diekman and Chasen Shreve on the roster.
It presents another name in what should be an intriguing bullpen battle this spring.