And just like that, Tyler Matzek’s tenure with the New York Yankees has come to an end. He elected to head back to free agency on Monday instead of being DFA’d.
On the year, Matzek has a 4.26 ERA in seven appearances with the Yankees. He had pitched about league-average out of the bullpen, but his 2.526 WHIP had to have been a cause for concern for the Yankees. They have opted to move on.
So with that in mind, what are the chances Matzek signs up to play for his most noted MLB team to date in the Atlanta Braves again?
After breaking in as a starter with the Colorado Rockies, Matzek reinvented himself as a high-leverage reliever for the Braves in the early 2020s. Atlanta does not win its most recent World Series title in 2021 without his brilliant pitching vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Matzek is now 34 years old, and only two years removed from suffering a major injury. His final year with the Braves last season saw him really struggle with an ERA approaching 10.0. Now that he seems to have found his groove a bit, I think a team like Atlanta can at least afford to take a flier on him. My concern if they do not is he goes to a team like the Dodgers to make Braves fans’ lives even worse.
Now that Matzek no longer works for the Yankees, I doubt he will be without a job for very long here.
Atlanta could certainly use a pitcher like Matzek, but they still have yet to recall Craig Kimbrel.
Atlanta Braves could kick the tires on Tyler Matzek once again
Again, Atlanta is only going to go as far as its leaky bullpen will allow for the entire team to go. This is how a bottleneck works: You can have multiple constraints in a system, but only one can provide relief to the entire operation if that one area is improved. It is essentially about raising your floor by elevating your greatest weakness. At this point, anything the Braves can do for the bullpen is a plus.
In a way, the inconsistent nature of Atlanta’s relief corps has actually created more interesting opportunities for the batting order to become more clutch. Being thrust into those situations because of a leaky bullpen can allow a team’s offense to be better prepared for those win-or-go-home circumstances at the plate. These early-season reps the Braves are getting should matter.
Look. For as much as I want to believe Matzek can return to form in an Atlanta uniform, the Braves let him walk for a reason, as did the Yankees. It is not easy to stick on a perennial playoff team, but that is where Matzek has spent the bulk of his career pitching. It would be such a shame if a bitter rival of the Braves or Yankees ends up signing him to theoretically beat them. Do not allow for it to happen.
Matzek has pitched better before prior to being released, but I do not think his career is over now.
