Another Braves’ arm hits IL amid roster moves ahead of Red Sox series

Matzek is the second Braves reliever to hit the IL in the past week or so as Pierce Johnson deals with elbow inflammation as well. It’s a bit different with Matzek, though.

The folk hero became one of Braves Country’s greatest treasures due to his improbable return to the majors and subsequent success in the postseason, including the notorious outing against the Dodgers in Game 6 of the 2021 NLCS a few years ago, coming in with the tying runner on and striking out the side.

The very next season, Matzek suffered from a slew of injuries, culminating right before the 2022 postseason, when it was announced that he would need Tommy John surgery.

He eventually rehabbed his way back and looked like a shell of himself this Spring Training, particularly the velocity. The results have been even worse than expected.

Matzek’s appeared in 11 games this season and owns an unsightly ERA of around 10.00, and it has nothing to do with control, which plagued him early in his career. His stuff is just gone. This very well could be the end of Tyler Matzek. If so, it’s a very sad day in Atlanta.

Ray Kerr was acquired from the Padres, along with Matt Carpenter and cash considerations, in exchange for Drew Campbell this offseason. The 29-year-old’s excellent splits against lefties is probably why he was recalled to Atlanta, along with the options he has.

Left-handed hitters batted .161 with a 0.89 WHIP versus Kerr last year. He features an impressive fastball that averaged 96 mph last season as well as a nasty curveball. With Gwinnett this year, Kerr owns a 4.50 ERA over 14.0 innings, boasting an impressive 14.1 K/9.

The Braves also have another pair of arms biding time in Triple-A Gwinnett in Ken Giles and Daysbel Hernández, so if Kerr doesn’t perform, there are more waiting in the wings.