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Mike Soroka Cleared To Begin Throwing

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April 29: Soroka has been cleared to begin “simple” throwing exercises, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com, adding that the Braves indeed feel the righty is more than a month away from returning. Manager Brian Snitker indicates that Soroka effectively has to “start over” with his buildup to the season. “We’ve just got to be patient with him,” said Snitker.

April 27: Braves righty Mike Soroka has yet to pitch in 2021 thanks not only to last year’s season-ending Achilles tear but also due to some inflammation that’s popped up in his shoulder. While Soroka’s most recent MRI did not reveal any structural damage, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported today (video link) that it did show some lingering inflammation. Soroka won’t begin throwing until that’s cleared out, and at that point, he’ll effectively need a full, Spring Training-esque buildup before he returns to the big leagues. Morosi suggests he isn’t likely to return until sometime in June, at the earliest.

That’s a tough blow for Braves fans and for a team that was originally hoping to have Soroka back around late April. The Braves are likely proceeding with some extra caution, however, as Soroka was twice placed on the injured list during his rookie season due to shoulder troubles — the second stint proving to be a season-ender

Soroka returned with a flourish in 2019, rattling off 174 2/3 innings of 2.68 ERA ball, a 20.3 percent strikeout rate, a 5.8 percent walk rate and a league-best 0.7 homers per nine innings pitched. He appeared in just three games last season, however, before suffering a torn Achilles tendon when coming off the mound to cover first base on a grounder to the right side of the infield.

It’s been another rocky season for the Atlanta rotation, which added veterans Charlie Morton ($15MM) and Drew Smyly ($11MM) on a pair of relatively high-priced one-year deals this winter. Braves starters have combined for a 5.29 ERA that ranks 29th of 30 teams.

Morton leads the club with five starts and 28 1/3 innings pitched, but he’s struggled to strand runners and is has a 4.76 ERA in the earlygoing (albeit with much better secondary marks). Max Fried has struggled through three starts and is currently alongside on Soroka on the injured list due to a hamstring strain. Smyly has also had an early IL stint, while Ian Anderson hasn’t quite replicated last year’s brilliant rookie showing.

Among the team’s fill-in starters, Huascar Ynoa has impressed, piling up strikeouts in bunches while yielding just six runs through 21 frames. The results haven’t been as sharp for either Bryse Wilson or Kyle Wright, though Wilson has made just two appearances and Wright only one.

For the time being, the Braves will roll with Morton, Anderson, Smyly, Ynoa and Wilson starting games. It’s a solid bunch, but the absence of the 2019 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up (Soroka) and the 2020 fifth-place Cy Young finisher (Fried) is rather glaring. A healthy group of Soroka, Fried, Morton, Anderson and Smyly could be one of the most imposing rotations in the Majors, but it doesn’t seem like we’ll see that quintet together in the near future.

Injury Notes: Jays, Fried, Astros, Freeland

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A few health updates from around the game…

  • Center fielder George Springer’s Blue Jays debut is on hold yet again. As of Sunday, manager Charlie Montoyo was optimistic Springer would debut tonight, but that wasn’t the case. Springer is “not ready yet,” Montoyo said (Twitter links via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet), though he did take batting practice and run the bases on Tuesday. Montoyo added that “[Springer] feels great except the running.” The former Astro has been trying to work back since suffering a right quad strain three weeks ago. In better news for the Blue Jays, ace Hyun Jin Ryu is recovering well from the right glute strain he incurred Sunday and shouldn’t miss a start, Nicholson-Smith relays.
  • The Braves are “likely” to activate left-hander Max Fried from the 10-day injured list next Tuesday or Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. If true, it’ll go down as roughly a three-week stay on the IL for Fried, who suffered a right hamstring strain during his most recent start on April 13. Once he returns, the 2020 NL Cy Young contender will try to rebound from a ghastly three-start, 11-inning stretch in which hitters victimized him for 15 runs (14 earned) on 23 hits and five walks.
  • Tuesday brought some positive and negative health-related developments for the Astros’ pitching staff. The good news: Southpaw Framber Valdez is making tremendous progress from a left ring finger injury and could rejoin their rotation sometime in June, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic relays. Valdez turned in a stellar performance in 2020, but he hasn’t gotten a chance to follow up on it this year. As for the bad news, righty reliever Pedro Baez has halted his throwing program on account of lingering shoulder soreness. The Astros transferred Baez from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday, meaning he won’t make his first appearance with the club until June 9 at the earliest. Houston signed the former Dodger to a two-year, $12.5MM guarantee over the winter.
  • Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland said Tuesday that he will “absolutely” pitch in the majors this season, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (Twitter links). Freeland, a little over a month removed from suffering a strained pitching shoulder, had an “outstanding” bullpen session on Tuesday and could throw a sim game next week, according to manager Bud Black. However, there’s still no clear timetable for a potential 2021 debut for Freeland, who finished third on the Rockies in innings (70 2/3) and recorded a 4.33 ERA/4.95 SIERA with a 51.5 percent groundball rate last season.

Jerry Blevins Announces Retirement

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Veteran reliever Jerry Blevins has retired from baseball, he announced Tuesday on Twitter (click here to read his statement). The left-hander had been with the Mets on a minor league contract.

Now 37 years old, Blevins entered the pros as a 17th-round pick of the Cubs in 2004. He never pitched for the Cubs, however, as they traded him to the Athletics as part of a deal for catcher Jason Kendall in 2007. Blevins debuted in the majors that year, which began a fairly long run in Oakland. He stuck with the A’s through 2013 and notched ERAs ranging from 2.48 to 3.70 in four different seasons as a member of the club.

Despite his solid production in an A’s uniform, they moved on from him heading into 2014, sending Blevins to the Nationals for outfielder Billy Burns. That proved to be the lone season in Washington for Blevins, whom the Nationals traded to the Mets for outfielder Matt den Dekker before the 2015 campaign.

Blevins missed almost all of his first season as a Met because of a fractured pitching arm, but he returned to deliver outstanding results over the next two years. In a 91-inning span from 2016-17, Blevins put up a 2.87 ERA with a 30.6 percent strikeout rate and a 9.9 percent walk rate. However, Blevins couldn’t replicate that success in 2018 – his last year with the Mets – and then reunited with the A’s on a minor league deal in the ensuing offseason. Oakland wound up trading Blevins to Atlanta before the 2019 season, which will go down as his final year in the majors. Although Blevins threw 32 1/3 frames of 3.90 ERA ball that season, he couldn’t make it back to the bigs on a minors deal with the Giants in 2020 or with the Mets this season.

In all, Blevins appeared in parts of 13 MLB seasons and posted a 3.54 ERA with 508 strikeouts in 495 1/3 innings. Blevins was especially tough on lefties, whom he held to a weak .213/.270/.313 line. MLBTR congratulates Blevins on a very solid career and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.

East Notes: Marte, Soroka, Yankees, Galvis

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Marlins center fielder Starling Marte went on the injured list with a fractured left rib a week ago, and he’s continuing to deal with “discomfort,” Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweets. The Marlins still don’t have a timetable for when Marte will restart baseball activities, according to Mish. Miami has given center field starts to Lewis Brinson, Magneuris Sierra and Adam Duvall in the absence of Marte, who got off to a great start this year with a .310/.414/.483 line and two home runs in 70 plate appearances before he went to the IL. Brinson, Sierra and Duvall haven’t been nearly as successful, as all three have logged production ranging from below average to terrible.

Here’s more from the East Coast…

  • Braves right-hander Mike Soroka’s injured pitching shoulder is “structurally sound,” per David O’Brien of The Athletic. However, Soroka still has not returned to throwing almost three weeks since the Braves shut him down with inflammation on April 7, so it remains unclear when he could make his season debut. The last year-plus has been unfortunate on the health front for Soroka, who missed most of 2020 with a torn right Achilles before his current issue cropped up. As a result of his injuries, Soroka hasn’t really gotten a chance to follow up on an All-Star 2019 in which he recorded a 2.68 ERA in 174 2/3 innings.
  • The Yankees suffered their 13th loss in 22 games Monday, falling 4-2 in Baltimore, but manager Aaron Boone did issue some positive injury updates beforehand (Twitter links via Marly Rivera of ESPN). First baseman and 2020 major league home run king Luke Voit is ramping up his activities as he works back from knee surgery. Left-handed reliever Zack Britton, who’s recovering from the arthroscopic elbow surgery he underwent in March, is slated to begin throwing from the mound at the end of the week. Based on the three- to four-month timeline the Yankees provided when Britton went under the knife, he won’t rejoin their bullpen until June or July. Meanwhile, righty Clarke Schmidt – who’s also on the mend from elbow trouble – has begun a throwing program, which is “going well,” per Boone.
  • Orioles shortstop Freddy Galvis exited their win over New York with left adductor soreness, the O’s announced. Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) that Galvis is day-to-day with groin tightness. Galvis, whom the Orioles signed to a one-year, $1.5MM guarantee in free agency, has been quite durable during his career – including this season. He has started all 22 of Baltimore’s games thus far and batted a solid .264/.321/.458 with a pair of home runs in 79 trips to the plate. When Galvis went down Monday, the Orioles moved Ramon Urias from second to short and brought in Rio Ruiz to handle the keystone.

NL East Notes: Fried, Maton, Duvall

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Sunday was a day to forget for the Braves, as the team had only one hit in the first game of a doubleheader against the Diamondbacks, and then had zero hits against Madison Bumgarner in the nightcap.  As per the official record, Major League Baseball is not recognizing Bumgarner’s feat as a no-hitter since the game was only a seven-inning contest, so the Braves avoided being no-hit for the 18th time in their franchise history.  (Though there has already been enough controversy over the league’s ruling that one wonders if Bumgarner could be retroactively awarded a no-hitter in time.)  The Braves did achieve one infamous distinction, however, as they now hold the record for fewest hits by any team in a doubleheader.

More from the NL East…

  • Max Fried’s stay on the injured list has already gone beyond the minimum 10 days, though MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that there’s a chance Fried could be available to pitch in this weekend’s series between the Braves and the Blue Jays.  Bowman wrote last Friday that there wasn’t yet a timeline on Fried’s recovery from a hamstring strain, though the southpaw was taking part in fielding drills and he threw a side session.  Facing the Jays in an AL ballpark would also keep Fried from having to take any at-bats — he suffered his hamstring injury while running the bases.  It has been a very rough start to the season for Fried, between the IL stint and the 11.45 ERA he has posted over his first 11 innings.
  • Nick Maton’s MLB career has gotten off to a dream start, as the 24-year-old has hit .500/.542/.636 over his first 24 plate appearances as a big leaguer.  Maton was initially called up to fill in for Didi Gregorius and then Jean Segura while the two were nursing injuries, though the Phillies are now looking for ways to get Maton into the lineup whenever possible.  “I told him to take flyballs everywhere.  You never know in the National League game what’s going to happen,” manager Joe Girardi told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman and other reporters.  A seventh-round draft pick for the Phils in 2017, Maton mostly played shortstop in the minors and saw some action at second and third base, though he has never played the outfield as a professional.  Maton has been working out at all three outfield spots, though Seidman notes that center field has been the biggest problem area for the Phillies, as Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, and Mickey Moniak have all struggled at the plate.
  • Speaking of new center fielders, Adam Duvall got his first-ever start at the position in yesterday’s 4-3 Marlins loss to the Giants.  Duvall played the first seven innings up the middle before moving over to right field for the bottom of the eighth.  Miami skipper Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that the move was made to add more offense, since “obviously we’re having a battle trying to put some runs on the board,” though Mattingly admitted that “it’s a catch-22 that we make ourselves a little different defensively in center.”  With Starling Marte on the injured list due to a rib fracture, the Marlins have mostly gone with Lewis Brinson as the center field replacement, but Brinson hasn’t been hitting.  Duvall has been mostly a corner outfielder and first baseman over his eight-year MLB career, though he did make one other appearance as a center fielder; Duvall played an inning at the position on August 11, 2020 when he was a member of the Braves.

Braves Activate Drew Smyly From 10-Day IL; Option Cristian Pache, Sean Kazmar Jr.

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As expected, the Braves activated southpaw Drew Smyly from the 10-day injured list in advance of his scheduled start tonight against the Diamondbacks.  Infielder Sean Kazmar Jr. was optioned to the alternate training site to create 26-man roster room for Smyly.  Outfielder Cristian Pache is also headed to the alternate site after being activated from the 10-day IL.

Smyly will make a relatively quick return after hitting the IL on April 16 (retroactive to April 13) with left forearm inflammation.  While the injury wasn’t thought to be overly serious, any sort of forearm problem had to be seen as a concern given Smyly’s lengthy health history, including a past Tommy John surgery that kept him from pitching in either the 2017 or 2018 seasons.

The IL stint could perhaps serve as a bit of a reset for Smyly, who had a quality start in his Braves debut on April 6 before struggling in his second outing on April 11, allowing five runs in five innings against the Nationals.  Smyly signed a one-year, $11MM free agent deal with Atlanta last winter, scoring a nice payday in the wake of a bounce-back 2020 season with the Giants.

A groin injury sent Pache to the injured list on April 14, so he’ll return after a minimal absence, though he is no longer on the MLB roster.  Pache has been heralded as one of baseball’s top prospects over the last few years, though he has only barely gotten his feet wet at the big league level, with 13 games and 35 plate appearances in 2020-21.  Pache is still only 22 years old and had played in only 26 Triple-A games in 2019, so the Braves clearly want him to get some more minor league seasoning in order to sharpen up his skills at the plate.  Pache is seen as a future Major League regular based on elite glovework alone, and becoming even an average hitter will raise his ceiling to a potential All-Star level.

Kazmar’s return to the majors ends after two games and one plate appearance, though it was enough to seal one of the more extraordinary comeback stories in recent baseball history.  Kazmar played in 19 games with the Padres in 2008 and didn’t make it back to the big leagues until this season, keeping his career going through years of grinding in the farm systems of four different organizations (Padres, Mariners, Mets, Braves).

MLBTR Poll: Struggling 2020 Playoff Teams

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This season has not started in ideal fashion for the majority of last year’s 16-team playoff field. While the Dodgers, Brewers and Athletics boast terrific records at roughly the 20-game mark, everybody else who qualified for the postseason in 2020 is, at best, hovering around .500. Eight of those clubs currently have more losses than wins (we’ll get to them in a bit).

With a 162-game schedule instead of a 60-game slate, slumping teams have far more time to rebound from slow starts this season. On the other hand, only 10 clubs will make the playoffs in 2021, so teams can ill afford to dig early holes for themselves.

American League

Twins (2020 record: 36-24; 2021 record: 6-11):

  • The Twins are coming off an 0-4, COVID-interrupted road trip that came to a horrific end with a 13-12 loss Wednesday, when sloppy defense led to an extra-innings collapse against the A’s. Reliever Alex Colome – the Twins’ keynote bullpen acquisition of the offseason – took the loss, continuing a rough start to the year for him. Meanwhile, ace Kenta Maeda turned in his worst performance of the season (seven earned runs in three innings) and has only gotten past the 4 1/3-frame mark in one of his four starts. The Twins will likely need the Maeda of old back if they’re going to push for a third straight AL Central title, though Jose Berrios and Michael Pineda have helped pick up the slack in their rotation so far. Meanwhile, the Twins’ offense hasn’t been a juggernaut (Josh Donaldson, Max Kepler and Andrelton Simmons have missed time with health issues), but Byron Buxton may be in the early stages of a breakthrough year at the plate and Nelson Cruz isn’t showing signs of slowing down.

Yankees (2020 record: 33-27; 2021 record: 6-11):

  • The Yankees were pegged as serious World Series contenders entering the season, but they have looked like bottom-feeders so far. What was supposed to be a high-powered offense has totaled the AL’s fewest runs and put up its second-worst wRC+, owing in part to the absence of injured 2020 home run king Luke Voit. The Yankees’ pitching has been much better than their hitting, but that’s largely thanks to the work of their bullpen – which hasn’t had many leads to protect. Gerrit Cole and, to a much lesser extent, Jordan Montgomery have carried their rotation, while offseason acquisitions Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon haven’t been all that effective coming off injuries, and Domingo German has struggled mightily in his return from a domestic violence suspension. The Yankees should get former ace Luis Severino back from Tommy John surgery during the summer, but there’s no telling how he’ll perform in the wake of two straight injury-wrecked seasons.

Blue Jays (2020 record: 32-28; 2021 record: 8-10):

  • The Jays have dealt with a rash of injuries to their pitching staff, including in their rotation – an area that could be a significant question mark even if everyone’s healthy. They have also had to go without their main offseason acquisition, center fielder George Springer, though he shouldn’t be far off from returning from a quad strain. To the Jays’ credit, they’ve essentially tread water thus far, and their plus-10 run differential does rank third in the AL.

Astros (2020 record: 29-31; 2021 record: 7-10):

  • The Astros sneaked into the playoffs last year with a sub-.500 record, though they still came within a game of reaching the World Series for the third time in four seasons. However, the team then got weaker in the offseason with the loss of Springer, whom it didn’t adequately replace, and was dealt another blow when starter Framber Valdez suffered a serious finger injury at the beginning of the spring. The Astros reacted by signing veteran Jake Odorizzi, who has delivered miserable results through his first two starts. Aside from Zack Greinke and Luis Garcia, Astros starters have not gotten the job done, while their bullpen has also been a letdown in the early going. Fortunately, even without Springer, a healthy version of Houston’s offense still brings plenty of firepower to the table.

Which of the above four AL teams do you believe has the best chance to rebound and make the playoffs? (Poll link for app users)

National League

Braves (2020 record: 35-25; 2021 record: 8-10)

  • The back-to-back-to-back NL East champions have fallen behind in April, thanks in part to injuries to starters Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Drew Smyly. The Braves overcame a series of health problems in their staff last year to earn a trip to the NLCS, of course, but an elite offense led the way then. Their attack has been above average again this year, though Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman are their only regulars who have offered star-caliber production. Conversely, Marcell Ozuna, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, Travis d’Arnaud have gotten off to brutal starts at the plate.

Cubs (2020 record: 34-26; 2021 record: 8-9)

  • The most significant move the Cubs executed over the winter was one that weakened them, at least in the short term. The team said goodbye to Yu Darvish, sending the 2020 NL Cy Young finalist to San Diego for fellow righty Zach Davies and a few prospects. Cutting costs was part of the motivation for that trade and in general when it came to the Cubs’ offseason; as a result, many were bearish on their chances heading into 2021. So far, the preseason pessimism has been warranted. The Cubs have not hit much, evidenced by bottom four National League rankings in runs and wRC+, and their pitching staff owns the NL’s third-highest ERA. Of their starters, only Jake Arrieta and Alec Mills have managed to post an ERA south of 5.00 so far. Surprisingly, the club’s best pitcher has been closer Craig Kimbrel, who’s back in dominant form after he was largely written off before the season.

Cardinals (2020 record: 30-28; 2021 record: 8-10):

  • The Cardinals pulled off one of the ultimate headline-grabbing moves of the offseason in acquiring star third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Rockies. The hope then was that Arenado would lift an offense that finished 2020 with a less-than-stellar wRC+ of 93. Arenado has indeed notched solid production so far, yet the Cardinals’ wRC+ sits at an almost identical 94 through 18 games. Meantime, the bottom-line results of the Cardinals’  starters have been a far bigger problem, as their rotation – which is missing the injured Miles Mikolas – has recorded the NL’s fifth-worst ERA.

Marlins (2020 record: 31-29; 2021 record: 8-9):

Which of the above four NL teams do you believe has the best chance to rebound and make the playoffs? (Poll link for app users)

East Notes: Braves, Smyly, Sale, Orioles, Kjerstad

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The Braves are planning to activate Drew Smyly from the injured list to start Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks, David O’Brien of the Athletic was among those to relay (Twitter link). The left-hander was placed on the IL last week with forearm inflammation, but he’ll return after missing just one start. Smyly has allowed nine runs (seven earned) over his first eleven innings for Atlanta, but he’s struck out eleven with just a single walk to this point.

Elsewhere in Atlanta and the game’s East divisions:

  • In other Braves’ pitching news (also via O’Brien), reliever Chris Martin has started throwing as he begins his ramp-up. The right-hander hit the injured list in early April with shoulder inflammation but O’Brien says he could return by the end of Atlanta’s upcoming homestand, which runs through the 29th. Max Fried, who went on the shelf last week after straining his hamstring, seems to be further behind. He has not yet begun throwing and there’s no timetable for his return, per O’Brien. Like Martin, Mike Soroka is dealing with shoulder inflammation; the 23-year-old is expected to begin a throwing program sometime soon, but manager Brian Snitker suggested he’s still far away from any potential return to game action (via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
  • Red Sox ace Chris Sale is progressing in his recovery from March 2020 Tommy John surgery, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com relays. Sale isn’t throwing off a mound yet, but manager Alex Cora said he’s “getting closer.” The left-hander will report to the team’s complex in Florida on Sunday to continue his rehab. Sale “feels great,” according to Cora, though the Red Sox still aren’t ready to offer a timetable on a potential 2021 return. Even without Sale, the Red Sox have surprisingly begun the season with an American League-best 12-6 record. Nathan Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodríguez have been the top performers in Boston’s rotation this year in Sale’s absence.
  • Orioles outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad has been medically cleared to report to the team’s alternate training site, per Jim Callis of MLB.com. Kjerstad, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, has been away from the club while recovering from myocarditis. The 22-year-old will need “a months-long buildup” before he’s ready for game action, Callis tweets.

No Extension Negotiations Between Braves, Freddie Freeman

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First baseman Freddie Freeman has become an institution in Atlanta since his career began in 2010, but there is a chance this will be his final season with the Braves. The reigning National League Most Valuable Player is not signed beyond this season, and if he does reach the open market over the winter, he’ll be one of the game’s highest-profile free agents. As of now, Freeman and the Braves are not progressing toward a long-term contract.

Asked about extension talks with the Braves, Freeman said Tuesday (via Jeff Schultz of The Athletic), “There is no negotiations.” Freeman added that discussing a deal during the season “would be a distraction and I don’t like distractions. My main focus is the game tonight and I don’t think there’s going to be much talking any time soon.”

Freeman has already received one lucrative payday from the Braves – an eight-year, $135MM extension in February 2014. As a soon-to-be 32-year-old, Freeman won’t sign a deal that long again, but a five- to six-year contract worth $25MM or more per season doesn’t seem outlandish. One comparable could be the Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt, who inked a five-year, $130MM guarantee with the Cardinals in 2019 at the age of 31. However, that was an extension hammered out several months before Goldschmidt could have gone to free agency, meaning the Cardinals weren’t competing against anyone for his services. The Braves may not have the luxury of avoiding a multi-team bidding war for Freeman if they’re unable to lock him up before the offseason opens.

Whether with Atlanta or another club, Freeman has done enough to earn a second nine-figure deal. The four-time All-Star has batted .294/.383/.510 (139 wRC+) with 245 home runs in 6,036 plate appearances, and he has missed only four games dating back to the beginning of the 2018 season. Freeman’s currently on pace for another tremendous year, having hit .233/.387/.517 (140 wRC+) with five HRs and a 14:6 BB:K ratio in 75 plate appearances. While Freeman’s batting average is uncharacteristically low, Statcast data suggests his .188 BABIP will eventually soar closer to his lifetime mark of .339.

Braves, Jesse Chavez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent righty Jesse Chavez, as first noted on the transactions log on at Braves.com. Presumably, he’ll head to their alternate site once he clears intake testing.

Chavez, 37, spent Spring Training with the Angels, who cut him loose late in Spring Training rather than pay him a $100K retention bonus (as would’ve been his right as a six-year veteran who qualified as an Article XXB free agent). Chavez struggled through 4 1/3 innings with the Halos during Cactus League play, yielding seven runs on nine hits and three walks with just a pair of strikeouts (25 batters faced).

Chavez had a solid run with the Rangers and Cubs from 2018-19, pitching to a combined 3.58 ERA with a 23 percent strikeout rate and an excellent 5.5 percent walk rate through 173 1/3 innings (101 relief appearances, nine starts). But the wheels came off for the veteran righty last summer in the second season of a two-year deal with Texas, as he was clobbered for a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings of work.

This will be the second stint with the Braves for Chavez, who tossed 36 2/3 innings for Atlanta more than a decade ago in 2010. The results weren’t pretty at the time, but Chavez broke out not long after and solidified himself as a solid swingman over a seven-year stretch during which he pitched for six different teams. All told, he carries a career 4.52 ERA, a 20.8 percent strikeout rate, a 7.4 percent walk rate and a 41.6 percent ground-ball rate through 933 innings spread across 13 seasons and nine different big league clubs.

The Braves currently have five pitchers — Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Drew Smyly, Touki Toussaint and Sean Newcomb — on the injured list. Bringing Chavez into the mix afford them some veteran depth both in the bullpen and the rotation, though it’s been more than three weeks since the Angels cut him loose, so he may need some time to ramp up before he’s even considered for a look with the big league club.

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