The Braves have struck a minor league deal with righty Alexi Ogando, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports on Twitter. The veteran reliever will receive an invitation to major league camp. He would earn a $2MM base salary with up to $1MM in available incentives if he can crack the big league roster, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.
Atlanta has opportunities available in its pen, which may have helped the team land Ogando without making any commitment. Boston had outrighted Ogando rather than tendering him a contract through arbitration, where MLBTR projected he could earn $2.4MM.
Now 32, Ogando worked to a 3.99 ERA in 65 1/3 frames last year for the Red Sox, with 7.3 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. But that didn’t represent a full return to form for a player who was once a highly-regarded young pitcher for the Rangers. Major ERA estimators all viewed his actual contribution at 4.18 or higher.
Maybe some of those long drives he gives up will stay within the playing confines of Atlanta. He sure had the ability to look really good for a couple of hitters, then give up a 450ft blast to the next though, so who knows.. Sit around 94-96, with that filthy slider going well, then he’d hang one and it would be all she wrote, might as well take him out right then, ’cause he was done for after that batter.
Hope things turn around for him, cause consistency was all he lacked in Boston.
Great arm but doesn’t take his job very serious most of the time. Waste of talent much like another former Ranger Neftali Feliz.
Reminds me of Edwin Jackson,pitcher with lots of talent but walks the ballpark.He was in the braves bullpen last year and pitched ok.If Ogando pitches ok or hopefully great, then flip him at the deadline.Not a bad shot.Need a lefty Sean Marshall and Eric O’ Flaherty need to be called.
Can we please add a bat to the line up
Who is going to play third?
Probably Adonis Garcia or maybe sometimes Beckham or Bonafacio. Olivera was going to play in the outfield but now that the Braves have Inciarte one might think that Olivera could be moved back to third possibly.
I’d like to seeBeckham get a decent amount of starts in Atlanta. Hometown kid ,who needs a boost, in a down year for the team. Maybe he can bounce back.