Braves' Relief Pitching Woes Need to Be Solved Before the Postseason

If the Atlanta Braves have one glaring weakness, it's their relief pitching. The NL East leaders have struggled to close out games and are prone to surrendering late leads after handing the ball over to a reliever.

The team vied to address the issue at the trade deadline, acquiring a handful relievers in the form of Mark Melancon, Chris Martin and Shane Greene, who made the All-Star game as the Tigers' closer.

Greene immediately struggled in his Braves' tenure, surrendering four runs across his first two innings of work, blowing a save and recording a loss in back-to-back nights.

Chris Martin didn't fare much better, letting up a walk-off two-run shot to Miguel Sano on Monday night.

Melancon has only featured once for the Braves since being acquired, though he allowed a hit and walked a batter in his lone inning of work.

Still, while the Braves believed to have addressed their Achilles heel at the deadline, it seems that the team is still incapable of locking down a tight game. That won't fly in the postseason, and the team needs to find a confident arm within the bullpen whom they can rely upon in save situations.

They've cycled through a handful of relievers this year, with A.J. Minter, Luke Jackson and more proving unfit for the full-time role. Greene will likely be given a longer leash than the aforementioned duo, but this is a problem that continues to plague Brian Snitker's squad.