John Hart continued his cycle of bringing in relief pitchers with closing experience when he signed RHP Jason Grilli to a 2-year, $8 million deal last December. The deal has a club option for 2017. Grilli, 38, has 12 years of Major League experience, all out of the bullpen. He was the closer for the Pirates in 2013, his lone season as an All-Star. The veteran split time last season between the Pirates and the Angels, and pitched his way to a 4.00 ERA in 62 appearances. He was involved in a swap for reliever Ernesto Frieri. Grilli did not have his best season statistically, but looks to bounce back alongside Jim Johnson and become one of Atlanta’s setup guys for Craig Kimbrel. If both of these guys can return to their closer forms, this bullpen could prove to be as good as the one back in the ”O’ Ventbrel” days. Grilli could be an attractive trade chip come July if they Braves are not competing due to his closing experience. He should be a lock for a bullpen spot and I’m excited to see Grilli work a lot of innings for Atlanta. I think he can be a great 7th or 8th inning guy for the ball club and he offers a veteran precense. This was one of many low cost moves made by John Hart that will keep the team competitive this upcoming season.
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