Braves Rumors

Braves Release Michael Bourn

By Steve Adams | April 13, 2016 at 6:59pm CDT

The Braves released Michael Bourn yesterday, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The veteran center fielder had previously been designated for assignment just prior to Opening Day, and the Braves were unable to find a trade partner for him during the 10-day DFA window.

The outcome shouldn’t come as a great surprise, as Atlanta reportedly sought out trade partners for Bourn throughout the offseason but were never able to find a taker for the declining veteran, who is slated to earn $15MM this year in the final season of a four-year, $48MM contract originally signed with Cleveland. Bourn provided some value in the first season of that deal, but recurring hamstring issues in the second and third year of the deal (as well as a neck issue last season) chipped away at his productivity and also led to prolonged stints on the disabled list in 2014. Bourn has batted a combined .247/.312/.322 in the past two seasons, and his stolen base numbers have declined as well — both in terms of raw accumulation and his success rate. After averaging 51 steals per season from 2008-12, Bourn stole a combined 50 bases in 377 games from 2013-15.

Bourn will now be free to sign with any team, and any club that adds him to the fold would only be responsible for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum, with the Braves and Indians picking up the bill for the remainder of his that $15MM figure he’s owed this season. The D-backs, who lost A.J. Pollock for a yet-undetermined amount of time due to a fractured elbow, have been linked to Bourn since he was designated for assignment, as have the Cardinals.

Hector Olivera Arrested In Domestic Dispute, Charged With Misdemeanor Assault

By charliewilmoth | April 13, 2016 at 4:09pm CDT

4:09pm: Goldberg tweets that Olivera has been charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and battery.

11:50am: Goldberg tweets that Olivera will appear before a judge this afternoon between 3:00-4:00pm and is likely to be charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.

11:29am: The Braves have issued the following statement on the situation:

“We are extremely disappointed and troubled to learn of the allegations involving Hector Olivera. We will continue to gather information and will address this matter appropriately as we determine the facts. Major League Baseball has placed Oliver on Administrative Leave effective immediately.”

The Braves have recalled infielder Daniel Castro from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill Olivera’s spot on the roster.

10:18am: MLB has placed Olivera on administrative leave, and the commissioner’s office has begun to investigate his situation, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets.

9:50am: Braves outfielder Hector Olivera has been arrested in connection with a domestic dispute near Washington DC, Jeff Goldberg of ABC7 News writes. The Braves are in Washington playing a series against the Nationals. According to Goldberg, the victim dialed 911 early this morning and said she had been assaulted. She reportedly had bruises and was taken to the hospital. Olivera was arrested but has not yet been charged.

MLB has lately dealt with a number of high-profile domestic violence issues surrounding players like Aroldis Chapman and Jose Reyes. Olivera’s situation could end up adding another name to that list. Chapman received a 30-game suspension from the Commissioner’s Office despite not being arrested or have charges filed against him, so the situation with Olivera has the potential to lead to considerably stronger discipline.

Olivera signed with the Dodgers last year as a high-profile free agent from Cuba, receiving a $62.5MM contract that continues through 2020. The Dodgers sent him to Atlanta in a three-team trade last July. He is currently the Braves’ starting left fielder.

NL East Notes: Dunn, deGrom, Winkler, Nationals

By Steve Adams | April 12, 2016 at 8:16pm CDT

Marlins left-hander Mike Dunn has had a setback in his recovery from tightness in his left forearm, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. The Marlins are bracing themselves to be without Dunn — their most reliable reliever across the past five seasons — for longer than they initially expected. “He didn’t come out very good from his ’[bullpen session],” manager Don Mattingly said. “He felt a little grab in there again. So, we’re going to slow him down, and I think he’s going to talk with [team physician Dr. Lee Kaplan] again and see where it goes.” As Frisaro writes, the initial MRI on Dunn didn’t reveal any structural damage, but there’s no timetable for his return at the moment until he has the injury reexamined. Dunn, 31 in May, has posted a 3.62 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 285 2/3 innings with the Marlins. He’s set to become a free agent at season’s end.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/12/16

By Steve Adams | April 12, 2016 at 6:10pm CDT

Here are the day’s outright assignments and minor moves from around the league…

The Braves formally announced today that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jhoulys Chacin, who will start tonight’s game. Right-hander Joel De La Cruz was optioned to Triple-A to clear room on the 25-man roster, while left-hander Jesse Biddle was transferred to the 60-day disabled list in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Chacin, 28, was a mainstay in the Rockies rotation from 2010-14, but he was released by Colorado last spring and ultimately signed minors deals with the Indians and D-backs. Chacin logged a 3.22 ERA in 128 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level and then had a nice run with the Diamondbacks’ big league club late in the year, turning in a 3.38 ERA in 26 2/3 innings.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that right-hander Ariel Pena has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A from the Brewers after being designated for assignment last week. Pena, who had been outrighted once before, had the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency but chose to remain in the Brewers organization. The Brewers originally acquired Pena along with Johnny Hellweg and Jean Segura in the trade that sent Zack Greinke to the Angels. The Brewers also announced (on Twitter) that they’ve released three players from their Dominican Summer League affiliate.

Braves To Designate Jose Ramirez For Assignment

By Steve Adams | April 11, 2016 at 11:27am CDT

The Braves will designate right-handed reliever Jose Ramirez for assignment, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Ramirez’s departure from the 40-man roster will allow the Braves to add left-hander Hunter Cervenka and right-hander Joel De La Cruz to the 40-man and 25-man rosters. The Braves still need to clear another spot on the 40-man, though presumably they could do so by transferring left-hander Jesse Biddle or right-hander Daniel Winkler (who, sadly, fractured his elbow in yesterday’s contest) to the 60-day disabled list.

Ramirez, 26, began last season with the Yankees but was traded to the Mariners alongside Ramon Flores in exchange for Dustin Ackley. The new Seattle front office subsequently flipped Ramirez to the Braves in exchange for a player to be named later (Ryne Harper) this offseason.

Ramirez appeared in two games for the Braves, and though he struck out four batters in his two innings of work, he also surrendered six runs on five hits and four walks. Ramirez throws hard, having averaged 95.1 mph on his fastball in the Majors, and he’s said to have a plus changeup to pair with that velocity. Ramirez, though, does have a lengthy injury history, and his performance in the Majors and upper minors has yet to line up with his raw stuff. The right-hander’s 2016 struggles have caused his Major League ERA to balloon to 10.53 (in a small 19 2/3 innings sample), and he has a 4.06 ERA in 106 1/3 minor league innings as well.

Cervenka and De La Cruz, each 26 years old, will be making their big league debuts with the Braves. Neither was drafted by Atlanta (Cervenka was drafted by the Red Sox, while De La Cruz was initially signed by the Brewers), but each signed a minor league deal with the Braves this past year and were in camp as non-roster invitees. Cervenka has displayed a penchant for missing bats but also questionable control of the strike zone, as evidenced by career averages of 9.1 strikeouts and 5.9 walks per nine innings in the minors. Last year, he held lefties to a .224/.318/.241 slash while pitching for the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate . De La Cruz, meanwhile, has a 3.99 ERA in 128 1/3 Triple-A innings. Last year he split the season between the Yankees’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, combining to throw 84 1/3 innings of 3.41 ERA ball with 4.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.

NL Injury Notes: Winkler, Gonzales, Solarte, Edgin

By Connor Byrne | April 10, 2016 at 4:28pm CDT

Braves righty Daniel Winkler, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014 and missed most of last season, left the club’s game Sunday in agony with a fractured elbow, Mark Saxon of ESPN.com was among those to report (on Twitter). Winkler, whom Atlanta took from Colorado during the offseason’s Rule 5 draft, was off to a hot start as a member of the Braves’ bullpen. Prior to the injury, he had gone 2 1/3 innings without allowing a hit or a run, adding four strikeouts against one walk. It’s currently unknown how much time Winkler will miss, but given the significance of the injury, the rest of the season seems like a strong possibility for the 26-year-old.

Here’s more injury news from around the National League:

Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales is deciding whether to undergo elbow surgery after consulting with doctors, including renowned orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache, tweets Saxon. It’s unknown what type of surgery Gonzales is considering, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. If the 24-year-old undergoes Tommy John surgery, he’d face a 12- to 18-month recovery, Langosch notes. Prior to notifying the Cardinals’ medical staff of elbow discomfort during the final week of Spring Training, Gonzales was expected to serve as rotation depth for the club this season. Gonzales, who dealt with shoulder issues last season, has logged a 4.82 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9 in 37 1/3 MLB innings.
Padres third baseman Yangervis Solarte is headed to the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring injury, paving the way for the call-up of utility man Alexi Amarista, according to Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Solarte slashed an eye-popping .375/.474/.563 over his first 19 plate appearances this year. Amarista fared well in a minuscule sample size for Triple-A El Paso to start the year, but he recorded a weak .204/.257/.287 in 357 PAs for the Padres last season and hasn’t exactly been stellar in his 1,575 big league PAs (.227/.274/.325). He does, however, offer versatility, having spent time at six different positions in the infield and outfield during his career.
Another past Tommy John recipient, Mets reliever Josh Edgin, began a rehab assignment Sunday with 2/3 of an inning at Class-A St. Lucie and is on track for an early May return, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link). The southpaw last saw action in 2014, when he served as a shutdown option for the Mets in compiling a 9.22 K/9 and 1.98 BB/9 to accompany a stingy 1.32 ERA in 27 1/3 innings.

East Notes: deGrom, Inciarte, Aybar, Biagini

By charliewilmoth | April 10, 2016 at 3:19pm CDT

The Mets will skip Jacob deGrom’s next turn in the rotation, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. Logan Verett will get a spot start in his place. Mets manager Terry Collins says deGrom’s sore lat muscle has “improved, but it’s not enough.” The team has not placed deGrom on the disabled list, though, and deGrom says he and the team are merely “erring on the side of caution.” DeGrom showed diminished velocity in his first start of the season Friday (throwing mostly in the low 90s, rather than the mid 90s), but he got good results overall, and the Mets don’t believe his lack of velocity is connected to his lat trouble. Here’s more from the East divisions.

The Braves have placed outfielder Ender Inciarte on the 15-day DL with a hamstring injury, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes. The team has promoted prospect Mallex Smith to take his place, as Bowman had previously suggested was a possibility. Smith, one of the players the Braves acquired when they dealt Justin Upton to San Diego, is a very speedy center fielder who’s gotten base and stolen bases at very high rates throughout his time in the minors. MLB.com currently rates him as the Braves’ 11th-best prospect.
The Braves are already considering moving Erick Aybar out of the starting shortstop job, writes Bowman. The Braves won’t consider early promotions for top prospects Dansby Swanson or Ozzie Albies, but they could move Aybar to second base — where his glove won’t be so exposed — and promote Daniel Castro, a better defender, to take his place at short. They would likely then send Jace Peterson to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Rule 5 Draft pick Joe Biagini is contributing to the Blue Jays not only with his 95-MPH fastball, but with his sense of humor, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes. When asked if he’s always been a pitcher, Biagini replied, “After I was born. I wasn’t really a pitcher before I was born.” The 25-year-old Biagini has done well on the mound, too, keeping Red Sox batters off the board while pitching his first two innings of his big-league career over the last two days. Last season, the righty was a starter for Double-A Richmond in the Giants system, posting a 2.42 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 130 1/3 innings.

Braves Re-Sign Emilio Bonifacio To Minor-League Deal

By charliewilmoth | April 10, 2016 at 9:53am CDT

The Braves have re-signed veteran infielder/outfielder Emilio Bonifacio to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Last we heard, the Braves had designated Bonifacio for assignment last week, so it appears he got through waivers.

The Braves signed Bonifacio to a big-league deal last offseason, but he didn’t make the team, as the Braves opted for Jeff Francoeur and Drew Stubbs as backup outfield options. Bonifacio collected 82 plate appearances for the White Sox last year, but he played for the Braves for part of the 2014 season. For his career, Bonifacio has batted .259/.316/.337 while playing seven different positions and for eight different teams.

East Notes: Inciarte, Mallex, Price, Blue Jays, deGrom

By charliewilmoth | April 9, 2016 at 4:30pm CDT

Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte left yesterday’s game against the Cardinals with hamstring tightness, as Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes. Inciarte, who missed time last year with hamstring trouble, says he’s hopeful he can return to the lineup soon. There are no indications yet that the injury is serious, but if Inciarte needs to head to the DL, the team could promote prospect Mallex Smith, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. Smith, one of the players the Braves received when they traded Justin Upton to the Padres, has continued his trend of posting very high on-base percentages and stolen-base totals since establishing himself in the Braves system (although the former dipped somewhat last year once he headed from Double-A Mississippi to Triple-A Gwinnett). The 22-year-old has a career .293/.379/.385 minor-league line, with 225 stolen bases in 1,769 plate appearances. Here’s more from the East divisions.

David Price says he understands the Blue Jays not extending him a contract offer this past winter, but feels they might have if Alex Anthopoulos had still been in charge, Alykhan Ravjiani of MLB.com writes. “I think if Alex would have still been here, then it might have been — not upsetting — but a little bit different,” he says. “But it’s a new front office, [there’s] a lot of new guys, and for them to not make that offer, I got it. I understood it.” Anthopoulos, of course, executed a series of high-profile acquisitions of stars like Price and Troy Tulowitzki, and the organization’s new front office headed by Mark Shapiro is perceived as being far less likely to make those sorts of decisive moves. Ravjiani notes, though, that the team already has fairly heavy payroll commitments, so it’s unclear if they would have made an offer even if Anthopoulos hadn’t left his post.
Mets starter Jacob deGrom is dealing with a stiff lat muscle, as David Lennon of Newsday writes. The Mets removed him from yesterday’s game after just six innings and 76 pitches, and his velocity was off, at an average of 92.8 MPH after he averaged 94.9 last year. “We’ll be careful with it,” says Mets manager Terry Collins. “If he can’t throw his bullpen in a couple days, we’ll have to find someone to throw in his spot.” John Harper of the Daily News argues that the Mets should be cautious with deGrom, helping him avoid the fate of Steven Matz, who missed significant time last year due to a torn lat.

Injury Notes: Schwarber, DeSclafani, deGrom, Inciarte, Ryu

By Jeff Todd | April 8, 2016 at 8:34pm CDT

The big news of the day, of course, is the Cubs’ loss of Kyle Schwarber for the season with a devastating knee injury. Schwarber won’t have his knee operation until the swelling has subsided, which may take a few weeks, and his expected timeline won’t really be known until that time, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com was among those to tweet. Manager Joe Maddon, meanwhile, said it was “classic validation of why we signed Dexter Fowler” (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, on Twitter). Maddon added that Jorge Soler will see plenty of action in Schwarber’s stead, with Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist also representing options to fill in.

There were a few other notable injury matters that hit the news wire:

Reds righty Anthony DeSclafani will be bumped once again after being expected to make his season debut on Sunday, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. Manager Bryan Price said there hasn’t been a setback, but suggested that the club was exercising added caution. DeSclafani had been slated for Opening Day duties, but is trying to work through an oblique strain.
Star Mets righty Jacob deGrom only made it through 76 pitches in his first outing of the year and was pulled early with tightness in his lat. As Mike Puma of the New York Post reports, deGrom’s velocity was notably down from its usual mid-90s pace — which could be a result of the cool weather and lat issues. Of course, he was still plenty effective, and he isn’t currently set for an MRI, but there are still some warning signs and good reason to proceed with caution.
Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte left tonight’s action early with a hamstring issue, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. He’s being labeled as day-to-day for the time being, and it doesn’t appear likely to be a serious injury, but those sorts of muscle tweaks can lead to longer absences than one might think. Atlanta fans will no doubt wonder whether a possible DL stint would open the door for the promotion of Mallex Smith, but the likelier course would be to lean on Drew Stubbs for the meantime.
The Dodgers got some promising news on lefty Hyun-jin Ryu, who, tossed two 20-pitch sim-game innings today. As Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets, manager Dave Roberts says that Ryu “felt great” after getting his work in. There’s still a long way to go before Ryu will make it back to the big league mound, but he is set to increase his pitch output in another simulated outing on Tuesday. The club will hope that the quality southpaw can keep some positive momentum going, as he has progressed somewhat slower than expected from his shoulder labrum surgery.

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