It has become increasingly clear over the last month of the Atlanta Braves' season that Tyler Kinley is on thin ice. The reliever has been used only when there are no other options or the game is well within hand. The numbers themselves aren't terrible, with Kinley offering a 3.57 ERA in 22.2 innings pitched, striking out 25 and giving up nine earned runs.
What set up concerns with Kinley were a string of four outings where four runs were given up from May 10th until May 17th. However, the right-hander appears to have turned a corner in recent days, offering five strikeouts and 3.0 scoreless innings in each of his last three appearances. It is a needed change for a player who will continue to be watched closely due to Atlanta's wealth of pitching options.
This is only going to grow more difficult with the upcoming returns of Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep, presumably demoting someone out of Atlanta's rotation. Already, the bullpen has one of the league's best late-inning trios in Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez, and Raisel Iglesias. The path to contributing in high-leverage situations has rarely been this difficult for the Braves. It speaks to a wealth of options and the continued pressure that is going to be on Kinley to deliver.
Braves Turning up the Pressure on Reliever Tyler Kinley Heading Deeper Into 2026 Season
For Kinley, there is not a lot of security in his current contract with the veteran having a $4.25 million deal that could easily be written off if things don't continue to fall his way. The Braves are chasing World Series expectations and have the depth of pitching to quickly pivot in another direction if the inconsistency reemerges or if the franchise believes the mid-May struggles are a sign of things to come.
Reynaldo Lopez and Didier Fuentes are both prime examples of the type of pieces that Atlanta has to lean on while maintaining a stacked rotation. Kinley doesn't have the luxury of stumbling in the weeks ahead if the veteran wants to keep his roster spot and maintain a level of security.
With this in mind, fans should be keeping a close eye on how manager Walt Weiss deploys Kinley and whether or not there are any changes to the bullpen in the coming weeks. Kinley has a lot at stake and earns enough of a salary that the Braves are going to be sure before making a drastic decision. However, the deal isn't highly paid enough to prevent the two sides from parting ways if the recent turnaround doesn't continue.
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