The Braves have signed catcher Francisco Cervelli to a major-league deal, the team reports.
Cervelli, 33, was granted his release Thursday by Pittsburgh to allow the 12-year-vet to join a contender down the stretch. After reportedly declaring in early July that his big-league backstop tenure, marred by persistent concussive setbacks, had come to its end, Cervelli reversed course, anchoring down on a proposed course that would again find him behind the dish as soon as he was able. He appears, after just six rehab games, to have reached that point.
The longtime Yankee backstop, who came into his own mid-decade with the Buccos after taking the reins from Russell Martin, has slumped to his worst career season in ’19, slashing just .193/.279/.248 in 123 plate appearances. Still, Cervelli’s just a year removed from a 125 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR line in just 404 PAs, so there may yet be some juice left in that tank.
He’ll look to stabilize a wobbly catching situation in Atlanta, where longtime starter Tyler Flowers has slumped miserably in the season’s second half, slashing just .188/.257/.359 in near-full-time duty. Whether or not Cervelli will receive regular time behind the dish isn’t yet clear, but a few more withered Flowers efforts and the Venezuelan could be thrust quickly into the mix.
Again?
they only just agreed to the deal
Billy Hamilton is going to be a weapon for the Braves.
Best lineup in baseball if healthy
Acuna
Swanson
Freeman
Donaldson
Albies
Markakis
Cervelli
Riley
Replace cervelli with a rested McCann
Nope. McCann is bad!
Just stop. Have you even bothered to compare the 2?
Other than speed, McCann doesn’t have any negative attributes.
One game but you still think you rather have McCann? Cervelli is an impact player at a position that has been lacking this year.
Cervelli has a good eye and offers some pop along with great On Base percentage
Not really
lol. Craziness.
Have you seen the lineup in both LA and NY?
I think Houston would disagree.
Yankees are pretty good
Boston is better
Boston is about to miss the playoffs
Doesn’t mean the lineup isn’t better?
I don’t know if I’d say that. I think they’re pretty even. They both have star outfielders, they each have a star power hitter (Freeman and Martinez respectively), they’re both weak at catcher, and they each have a fair amount of decent players to round out the lineup.
Yeah I understand that 100% I just felt the missing playoffs was an unnessecsry knock on their offense not carrying the team far enough
Well, sometimes the offense has to carry the team. The Yankees starting pitching is pretty lackluster right now with all the injuries, and their offense is getting the job done. If an offense is good enough, they can carry the team. Boston’s just can’t.
Switch Swanson & Albies
No. Swanson is the better hitter. I don’t want free-swinging Albies in the 2 hole.
Dodgers lineup beats it
Dodgers and Yankees…I’d take the Cubs as well over this line up.
Just took 2 of 3 from the Dodgers with a lesser line up and won the season series against the Cubs 5-2
Not taking anything from the Braves but this lineup is superior if healthy:
Hicks
Judge
Stanton
Encarnacion
Voit
Sanchez
Andujar
Gregorius
Torres
LeMahieu
Urshela
How do you put LeMahieu as a 2ndary? The guy is one of the best hitters in the major leagues.
You crazy Houston, Yankees and Dodgers all better if healthy
Yay! More injuries for Braves’ catchers!
So when McCann gets better we can send Flow down to Triple-A!
They’ll keep 3 catchers since rosters will be expanding soon.
Susuki and Annibal should have been wined, dined and retained for sure. The McCann thing was a good story and cool for him and the Org, but those legs and knees are done. Better hope he hits a homerun or he’s a cog on the paths.
Welcome to ATL Franky.
How many times has McCann hit the ball to the outfield in the second half? like 3 times?
I know right? I mean its like McCann was trying to play through a knee injury or something. As though he couldnt pivot from his ankles to his knees to put hard contact on the ball or something.
Not convinced. You are assuming his knees were sore since the start of the second half. Regardless, trying to play through his injury as a catcher only hurts the Braves more.
Cervelli will be a game-changer! McCann is more of a feel-good story.
That’s an interesting thought. Do you think McCann’s having trouble making hard contact?
Fangraphs has his “hard contact” at 39.5%, which is the highest it’s ever been throughout his career. Maybe you were just thinking of the 2nd half here, when he was “trying to play through a knee injury or something”. Oddly, Fangraphs has his hard contact rate higher than in the 1st, though it is pretty consistent.
I think I can help with some answers.
Brian McCann has 88 PA’s since 07.12.19. In 35 of them he hit the ball to either RF, CF, or LF on either a line drive or a fly ball, delivering a .657 SLG & a .400 BA. 3 is a grossly underestimating.
There were runners on and 2 Outs in 10 of these instances. McCann brought in 3 RBI’s. And the other team’s had the shift on him in 9 of those 10 and he beats it.
Yes, but All’s opinion outweighs your silly evidence.
I couldn’t agree with Keith more. Most baseball players run away from the ice bath after they hit a walk off. Even more never get a chance their entire careers because they never hit a walk off. How many times this year have we seen Brian McCann intentionally put his head INTO the walk off blue Powerade ice bath? The guy is a team player and he plays smart. Even with guys on base in extra innings coaches would walk the batter in front of McCann and then bring an outfielder in to make it 5 infielders. Then they would pitch him nothing but low outside balls to try and make sure his extremely slow legs grounded out. What does McCann ALWAYS do in that situation? He realizes that the coach only left 2 outfielders and digs a low outside ball out of the dirt to just ever so slightly loft it over the shortstops head. Drops it in the part of the outfield that neither of the mere 2 outfielders can cover. It would have been an easy out with 3 outfielders but Mac isn’t trying to hit to bring up his exit velocity. He doesn’t care what fantasy baseball pundits say. He wants to win with the Braves. He already got paid by the Yanks and already won a championship and WS MVP with Houston. He doesn’t care about money. That’s why he took a $2 million deal while his back up is on a $5+ million deal and earns a higher AAV. I played against McCann in highschool when he was a year ahead of me at Duluth. Kyle Davies was the ace starting pitcher on his team at the time. We also played against Francoeur the same year when he was at Parkview. It was right before they all got drafted. Just like all of us back then his dream was to win it all with the Braves. That’s all he has left to do. That’s all he wants to do before he retires. Analysts look at baseball as a game of averages and try to guess how many wins a players stats are worth. Mac doesn’t think the same way. He lowered his exit velocity while increasing his rate of swinging at balls out of the strike zone so the Braves could win. Had he not done that the 2 times I watched him do it this season we would have lost both games. We were already losing with 2 outs and he was the last at bat of the game. If you ask me: that’s 2 wins above replacement right there. His replacement would have never done that and we would have lost both games. Smart player. Incredible in the clubhouse. Productive in the sense that he will pull multiple wins out of thin air for your team. Helps coaches advance hitters, catchers, and pitchers to become better. Accomplished. Dirt cheap. So cheap he is cheaper than a player that was clearly his backup when he signed. What more do you want from a $2 million a year free agent player? I would venture to say that even if this injury is surprisingly a career ending injury for McCann that the Braves got way more than their money’s worth. I think Snitker is the best manager the Braves have had since Joe Torre. Yes… I think he is better than Cox. Cox is the only manager I have ever seen that would trot a .180 hitter out in the lineup every single day while keeping a defensively versatile All-Star who is literally competing for a batting title that season on the bench. Cox also almost always had 3 Hall of Famers in his starting rotation in addition to a hall of famer in his infield. Not to mention a 10 time consecutive gold glover in center field. I would love to know Bobby Cox’s win percentage when he didn’t have a future Hall of Famer on the mound. Torre dealt with a terrible team in Atlanta and went on to prove he could coach a good team to the promise land with the Yanks. I think Torre would have gotten the Braves more than the 1 championship Cox did. The team should stay in Snit’s hands now but if McCann is retired by the time Snitker is done… Then I hope McCann is the next Braves manager.
WS mvp? Thought that was Springer?
All-star game MVP with the Braves is what I remember.
Not trying to knock anything about you or your knowledge, but paragraph’s lives matter..I made it 5/8 the way before I started drifting off lol.
hey @SucksSacks…please stop clogging everyone’s thread!…Seriously man, it sux
Here comes 2 vertical feet of words without paragraphs..yawwwn
Sorry not sorry.
Ahh. Yes. You are correct. It was AS MVP. I thought he had a heck of a playoff run that same year though. Am I wrong? Maybe it was the year the stros lost.
This wasn’t your thread. It was chippahawks. If you are worried about me clogging anything it should be your mothers intestines. Until you are man enough to call me out for that then you can keep your mouth shut, future stepson… If she’s lucky.
I think I confused it with ALCS MVP. He was the key player that knocked off the Yanks the year they traded him to the Stros on the way to the WS. Am I right?
That was Verlander, mccann hit a 2 run double in game 7 to go 4uo 4-0, but that was about the extent of his damage throughout the series.
1st half .264 avg, .339 OBP, 8HR, 5 doubles and 31 RBI’s
2nd half .263, .330, 2HR, 3doubles and 8RBI’s 21 hits minus the 2 HR’s that’s at least 19 times . I’m sure he hasn’t bunted much.
It’s called insurance 101, teams in contention or leading late in August have to find band aids to cover abrasions
Cervelli even with his 12 concussions is a hitting upgrade over Flowers and McCann has done well with a bad knee and deserves some kudos.
Cervelli like Hamilton will win a game or two for the Braves and help patch some weaknesses for the September run. .
The Braves must have a lot of warm bodies holding down roster spots in order to make all these moves.
A lot of kids with options and injured players who wouldn’t come up in September if they were healthy. So they can go on the 60-day DL.
If he can find his true normal form, I’ll be very happy to have him. He will be an upgrade to flowers
Said he didn’t want to catch anymore…is that still the case?
Didn’t read the article, broski?
Won’t he miss being with the Pirates, especially considering how Pittsburgh has played since the All Star Game?
Go braves
Cervelli never said he was giving up catching. He made a vague statement that was misinterpreted by a local rabble rouser who pretends to be a journalist.
Wish Frankie all the best. Class guy and hard working player.
Nice letter to Pirate fans and management and the city of Pittsburgh.
Showed a lot of class.
The Pirates ‘pitchers missed him this year.
We will see how long he can last at the toughest physical position.
I hope he does nothing to jeopardize his future health.
He is good guy and I wish him nothing but the best.
Braves bring in a young whippersnapper to catch eh?
wow A-Jax just called one of the best games that weve seen all year and you send him down…. I personally would like to see Flow be gone first he’s a horrible game caller and has way too many passed balls. not to mention he doesnt provide a good target for the pitcher.
He will be back in a week though.
Flow is at the very top as a pitch framer
Im not talking about framing Im talking about offering a good target I never once mentioned his framing however that might also be why he gets so many passed balls…
All the more reason to make a hard push for Buster in the offseason
Does he really want to play on a rebuilding team like the Giants ???
And all those Giant fans with that he means to much to the organization nonsense that is selfish on you guys part. He has limited years left and would have the opportunity to play in the playoffs every year and challenge for a World Series.
He brought them 3 rings now it’s time for Farhan to send him home to try and get a couple more rings before he has to retire. Plus pick up a couple prospects for said rebuild.
2 years like 40 million on his contract? Hell No!
Hard no.
Looks so angry in that photo. “I told you kids, if it comes over the fence again I’m keeping it!”
Some say that if you look up “game face”, the first definition reads “See also: Francisco Cervelli”
Looked like Carlton Fisk tonight
He is one of the most underrated players at his position. Hence, why I’m so high on him especially knowing the Braves have easy outs in McCann and Flowers there. If he stays healthy, the Braves will probably resign him because they have a gaping hole there with no viable replacement.
Do not fall in love with Francisco.
He may help the Braves out this year and I hope that he does.
But he is just one more foul tip away from retirement.
Heck of a first game for a guy a bunch of these commeneters called a mistake acquisition and a bum (paraphrasing). I’m sure whoever said that won’t comment on this post anymore. What was it? 2 for 3 with a combined runs scored and RBIs total of 3? Nothing that would make the highlight reel for a superstar… Oh wait… I just watched it on the ESPN highlight reel tonight. So I guess it is highlight reel material considering ESPN deems it worthy of all sports fans (not just the ones in Atlanta) paying attention to. Anyhow, I think it was a good cheap pickup and anyone who thinks AA is taking this organization in the wrong direction can go worship Bryce Harper and his $330 million dollars. BTW… Those folks should find some serious long term Phillies fans and ask their opinion about that contract. Not what they thought when it was signed (most were somewhat optimistic). Ask what they think about it now. It sucks to expect further disappointment in the first year of a 13-year $330 million deal that features a full no trade clause. I only brought that up because I know for a fact that multiple commenters on this post who claimed to hate the Cervelli acquisition (at league minimum) were also complaining about the fact that the Braves didn’t outbid Philadelphia for Harpers services. I am sorry about my lack of paragraphing. There has to be an app for that right? I mean I type everything I post on a broken cell phone and I can only see 1 line at a time due to the “No new comments” button in addition to the adds. If I were to make indentations I wouldn’t be able to see what I write. Anyone that thinks my posts are too long to read can pop an adderall and try out Mavis Beacon. It’s called reading folks. I learned how to do it when I was 4. I hope you are old enough to do it by now. If my posts take too much time to read than how do you have the time to reply about the fact that they are too long? If your attention span can’t handle it, don’t read it. That’s why you have the ability to scroll down.
Sorry. I miscalculated. He had 3 RBIs alone. His runs scored plus RBI total was actually 4. Not 3.
Folty pitched a he’ll of a game Wednesday. Jackson of course was his catcher. If they work that well together Jackson should definitely be called up when rosters expand. seriously if folty pitches that well with Jackson be hind the plate… Look out cause last year’s Folty would be a tremendous advantage.
You crazy Houston, Yankees and Dodgers all better if healthy
Signing catcher Cervelli and Hamilton was a great addition.Its time Braves look at the catcher position Tyler good kid but his defense is weak,and his hittingg even weaker.Tyler defense he do not shift his entire body to get in front of the ball to block the ball,and sometimes he be call a pass ball because he do catch the ball.Braves are slow in developing a catcher McCann getting older so Cervelli should move ahead of Tyler and play rotation with McCann when he return.I keep Tyler because McCann might retire or trade Tyler in the off season along with another play get a young upcoming catcher.1st baseman Freeman is human the Braves need to get a ESTABLISH 1st baseman to give Freddy some rest days Freeman is a Hall Famer but give the man more rest days and just use him for pinch hitting duties.The Braves got some big decisions coming in the off season especially for the outfield positions all except one OF-ACUNTA.Enjoy the playoffs Braves fans We got the TEAM TO WIN IT ALL.WORLD SERIES CHAMPION-ATLANTA BRAVES sound good to me.Hey Braves let give our team that home team advantage lets sound off and chop from start to end.I do not know about you guys i want this organization to win more than 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN ATLANTA.LETS DOMINATE.I would like the Braves get the STEVE SPURRIER ATTITUDE keep scoring you not running the score up if you have a good team its the other team responsible to practice and prepare for you if they not prepare or good enough beat them down but at the end game respect your opponent shake their hands and talk about their teams with respect.The Braves have the team to do it especially with our young good pitchers.The Braves let get the FOOTBALL ATTITUDE.