Braves remove Greene as closer less than 2 weeks after deadline deal

Shane Greene's tenure as the Atlanta Braves' new closer has come to a sudden halt.

Following his team's Friday win over the Miami Marlins, Braves manager Brian Snitker announced Greene - acquired in a deadline-day trade with the Detroit Tigers - has been removed from the closer's role for the time being, according to David O'Brien of The Athletic.

Mark Melancon, who also joined the Braves on July 31, will take over ninth-inning duties in Greene's place.

Greene earned his first All-Star berth this season while putting together a career year in Detroit and was one of the most sought-after relievers ahead of the trade deadline. Atlanta dealt two prospects for Greene in the hopes he'd stabilize its woeful bullpen.

But the 30-year-old has looked like a totally different pitcher in Atlanta. Since the deal, he's allowed five earned runs in only 3 1/3 innings, blown one save, and spiked his 2019 ERA - which sat at 1.18 on July 31 - by a full run.

He tossed one-third of an inning Friday. He allowed an inherited runner to score but wasn't charged with an earned run - for the first time as a Brave.

Melancon, by contrast, has quickly made a strong impression with his new team. The three-time All-Star hasn't allowed a run in four appearances since Atlanta took on his expensive contract from the San Francisco Giants, a team with which he struggled over the last two-plus years.

Snitker didn't specify how much time Melancon will spend as the primary closer, but he did hint Greene could earn some opportunities again.

"We have four or five guys down there (who can close)," Snitker said, according to Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It's also going to depend on matchups and hopefully guys need days off and we have guys to turn to. Hopefully, we get hot enough to where we need them all."