Amazed: Braves reunite with veteran reliever after brief separation due to injury huddles…
According to Tyler Matzek’s MLB.com website, the Braves signed the veteran reliever to a minor league contract on August 31. Today, Matzek was given a job at Triple-A Gwinnett. Matzek would have been eligible for the Braves postseason roster if he had signed before September 1st.
Naturally, Matzek is familiar with postseason baseball in Atlanta, having been a vital component of the Braves’ 2021 World Series winning bullpen. He had further strong results in 2022, but a Tommy John operation in October of that year prevented him from making another postseason run. Matzek returned to action this year but has a 9.90 ERA over 10 major league innings for the Braves after missing the entire 2023 season recovering from the operation.
Since May, Matzek has not pitched in the major leagues due to an episode of elbow inflammation that put him on the injured list. Prior to San Francisco releasing the southpaw earlier this week, Matzek pitched in five games for the Giants’ Triple-A team after Atlanta sent him to the Giants as part of the Jorge Soler trade at the deadline.
Matzek now returns to the Braves organization after just over a month away and will likely continue to work things out in Gwinnett to see if he can find his old form. His brief time at Triple-A Sacramento didn’t bear much fruit, as Matzek had a 5.79 ERA over the small sample size of 4 2/3 innings pitched. The Braves have a penchant for reuniting with former players and there’s no risk in adding Matzek to the Triple-A roster, plus Atlanta is already on the hook anyway for the remainder of his $1.9M salary for the 2024 season.
