Braves Release Fernando Salas

The Braves have released veteran right-hander Fernando Salas from their Triple-A club in Gwinnett, as was first reflected on the Triple-A International League transactions page. His tenure with the organization will last just under a month in total.

Atlanta signed Salas, 33, to a minor league contract in mid-July after he’d been cut loose by the D-backs. The veteran reliever had worked to a 4.50 ERA with 30 strikeouts against nine unintentional walks (13 total) in 40 innings with Arizona this season, though he slumped late in his time with the Diamondbacks after a more promising start to the season. His 90.5 mph average fastball velocity with the D-backs didn’t represent a significant decline from his career marks or from his 2017 levels, though his swinging-strike rate did suffer a more noticeable drop (12.9 percent in 2017, 9.3 percent in 2018).

Salas’ limited time in the Braves organization didn’t go well, as he was tagged for eight runs in six innings with Gwinnett. He did post a 9-to-2 K/BB ratio in that brief stretch of Triple-A work and, of course, carries a good bit of MLB  success on his resume as well. In 487 frames at the Major League level, Salas owns a 3.90 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. He’ll once again be available to 29 other clubs on a minor league pact as he looks to latch on with a new team for the final couple months of the 2018 campaign.