The Braves swapped one highly regarded left-handed pitching prospect for another yesterday, optioning Max Fried to Triple-A Gwinnett and selecting the contract of southpaw A.J. Minter to take his place. As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes, the move will allow Fried, who projects as a starter long term, to make another couple of starts and boost his innings total a bit further this year before returning in September once rosters expand. Fried has been working out of the bullpen in the Majors and has 93 1/3 total innings between the Majors and minors this year. He tossed 118 2/3 frames with the Padres’ A-ball club back in 2013 but has topped out at 103 innings in a season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014. As for Minter, he debuted with a pair of punchouts in a perfect inning last night and will use the remainder of the season as an audition for the 2018 bullpen. The Braves originally selected Minter with the 75th overall pick in 2015 — a Competitive Balance (Round B) selection that the D-backs traded to Atlanta in order to shed a significant portion of Trevor Cahill’s contract.
More out of Atlanta…
- Right-hander Dan Winkler returned to the Braves earlier this week after missing the majority of the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery and nearly all of the 2016 season due to a fractured elbow. Bowman spoke to Winkler, who said that at one point he thought he’d never be able to pitch again, about his emotional return to the mound. However, the vast amount of time that Winkler spent on the disabled list (as opposed to the active roster) means that even though it’ll be three years since he was selected by the Braves in the Rule 5 Draft this coming December, he’ll still need to open the 2018 campaign in the Atlanta bullpen or be offered back to the Rockies.
- Freddie Freeman’s power numbers have dipped a bit since his return from the disabled list, and the first baseman tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the fractured wrist which cost him roughly seven weeks of the season is still only at about “80 to 85 percent” strength. Freeman said he’s connected on multiple deep flies that he assumed were home runs, only to see them fall a bit short. Doctors have told Freeman that his wrist won’t fully heal as long as he continues playing, but Freeman indicated that he’s healthy enough to play on an everyday basis, so he’ll be out there with his teammates and let the healing process complete itself this winter. Of course, even with the “diminished” production, Freeman is batting .320/.391/.535 with eight homers and 13 doubles through 192 PAs since coming off the DL. He playfully referred to himself as a “good enough slap hitter” at the moment, though most slap hitters could only dream of logging that type of production over any sustained period.
In other words, 80-85% of Freeman is superior to most hitters in the league.
A bit of a hot take, but accurate for the moment.
Hope 2018 turns into the season expected, hoped for, and nearly promised. Hope Freeman can get healthy and 100% to lead this team.
So much young pitching, hope the 5-7 young arms primed for 2018 can produce a rotation and bullpen. Would like to see the team pick up a solid veteran (under the age of 38) to put with Julio, Newcombe, and Dickey.
Also, hope that middle infield can find their stride at the plate. 2019 could be a good year.
One great thing about baseball……hope !
Hope Julio can learn to pitch effectively consistently.
Would you be okay with C.C.? He may retire but the Braves have enough young guys as a safety net if he gets hurt
Not for that price tag, I want Cobb and maybe pick Dickey’s option up.
No
A braves article on mlbtr? Whaaaaaat
Is the haterade buy one get one where you’re from?
To be followed by the flood of “Let’s trade our Ace, Teheran, for
[ Stanton/Trout/teams’ top prospects ] or “Let’s trade Kemp for a prospect haul” comments and Chat questions.
Real braves fans, don’t think Kemp can be traded for prospects. But when Teheran is having a good year is a valuable guy, if he’s pitching like he can, he could get a similar return to Quintana. They have very similar career stats.
Don’t tell White Sox fans that. Or any fans. Quintana’s “moneyball” numbers make him EXTREMELY more valuable and will manifest themselves into outs any day now.