The Braves announced a series of roster moves in advance of this afternoon’s game against the Cubs. Atlanta selected the contracts of infielder Sean Kazmar Jr. and left-hander Jesse Biddle, recalled righty Bryse Wilson and placed outfielder Ender Inciarte and southpaw Sean Newcomb on the injured list. Righty Kyle Wright was optioned to the alternate training site last night. (ESPN’s Jeff Passan had previously reported Kazmar’s impending call-up).
Kazmar’s return to the big leagues is nothing short of remarkable. A 36-year-old infielder, his entire MLB experience to date consists of 19 games with the 2008 Padres. Kazmar has since bounced between the San Diego, Seattle, Mets and Atlanta farm systems. He has spent the past eight years in the high minors with the Braves, and his determination to return to the big leagues will now pay off. Andrew Simon of MLB.com provided the starting lineups (via Twitter) of the last MLB game in which Kazmar appeared.
Biddle signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta earlier this month. The 29-year-old southpaw has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three years, with the bulk of that time coming in 2018 with Atlanta. The former top prospect has a 4.68 ERA with subpar strikeout and walk rates (22.3% and 12.8%, respectively) over 92.1 innings at the highest level. He’ll replace Newcomb, who was placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons.
Inciarte, meanwhile, went on the 10-day IL as expected. He strained a hamstring in last night’s game. With both Inciarte and Cristian Pache now on the shelf, Atlanta will turn to Guillermo Heredia in center field this afternoon.
Great to see Kazmar get a shot after his tenure with Gwinnett. good soldier. and obviously great to see Biddle get another shot as well.
This is the first I heard of Newcomb having a injury.
Makes you go, hmm…honestly, knowing how AA has put some on the IL in the past during slumps (rather than demoting), which would open up a roster spot – I wonder if the ambiguity of not having to report a reason someone goes on the IL (due to Covid) makes it easier to manipulate the system. Newcomb pitched well yesterday, though obviously something could have been noticed or happened following. Just very interesting.
Roster Resource at Fangraphs lists Newcomb as “COVID-19.” Whatever his situation, it’s another problem for a beleaguered pitching staff. The positional injuries are piling up, too. Will we see Drew Waters soon? And it would be useful to have Charlie Culberson around now.
Kazmar Jr just made it in as a pinch hitter for Ynoa who just got clobbered by the cubbies.
Good for Kaz… even though he grounded out.
Not so much for the preteen fans that are surprised Kazmar played baseball in the “olden days” before they were born.
The last time Kazmar played in the Major Leagues, George W. Bush was still POTUS. Wow! As millennials would say, “I can’t even.”
Biddle had control problems the last time he pitched for the braves. He is having it again today. I was hoping Ynoa was going to be a bright spot in the rotation, but he got lit up today.
honestly just seeing Biddle in the Majors is nice after what he went though during his later years in the PHI system.
Biddle is probably Done.hus first Braves Tour showed he was rapidly fading,kaznae essentially a 4A player who is persistent.Wish The Bullpen gad his moxy!
I wonder if the 13 year gap between big league appearances is the biggest ever? If it isn’t, it has to be close.
MLB.com says it is
Not even close. Kazmar last appeared in a game in September 2008, which is less than 13 years.
“The most recent player with a longer gap was right-hander Ralph Winegarner, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Winegarner played on June 23, 1936, for the Cleveland Indians and did not return to the majors until July 7, 1949, with the St. Louis Browns — a span of 13 years, 14 days.”
Not even close? 12 years and 200 some odd days seems relatively close to 13 years 14 days.
Depends on your definition of “relatively close”. It’s 173 days less than Winegarner, which is nearly six months. In the big picture, 173 days might seem like a blip in the sands of time, but for those who had longer “stay-at-home orders” last year, it seems like an eternity.
It’s all good though.
Kazmar is a great story. I was just correcting the “mLB.cOm SaYz iTz A rEcOrD” line. With four extra clicks to read the article on another site, I learned that Kazmar doesn’t have the record, and I like to take the opportunity to correct fake news wherever I can. Too many times we rely on reading just one article and assuming it’s correct, while not bothering to confirm our “research” elsewhere.
Kaz will just have to try again if he wanted the record.
sorry I read that wrong. longest in 50ish years supposedly
well to be fair though theres the caveat of Winegarner having been a coach at the time. that’s kinda not quite as impressive.
Incredible fortitude. Not sure if a player played 7 consecutive full seasons with the same AAA team before either.
He has also been teammates with Greg Maddux, Trevor Hoffman, Jim Edmonds and Tony Clark, all on that 08 SD team too.
Great story for Kazmar. Hopefully he makes it into a game. It’s one last push that shows that sabermetrics and algorithms and made-up statistics aren’t everything, and that grit and determination still have a place in the game today.
Not so fast, gramps. He would not be getting a shot if it weren’t for injuries, and his defensive metrics have always been plus. “Grit and determination” obviously mean a bit, but he has skills and is a defense-first/no-bat player.
To be clear: something is not “made-up” just because you refuse to learn what it is. This is what is happening here. The RBI is a “made-up” stat too, as is pitcher W-L. Stop trying to push your agenda.
SHOO! BACK YOU! Robot umpires and computer players can run the game of baseball with algorithms, little blockchain theories, 30-second microgames to appease impatient millennials someday down the line… but not today!
Today is not yet that day. Don’t make me spill water on your laptop and render you helpless without electronics or an internet connection.
Even though Tatis Jr., and his “swag” and building his brand are the face of baseball, for at least one day, that face is Sean Kazmar Jr.
“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh… people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.”
Lol what is Biddle doing in the majors, let alone on the Braves. Biddle is a Greek tragedy. Amazes me anyone takes a chance on this pathetic excuse for a player.
Seems odd they brought Biddle up; they still have plenty of lefties in the pen.
The Kazmar story is at least a nice angle but I have to be realistic. The Braves are doing this because they are getting destroyed by injuries and quiet bats.
Is Francouer still in shape? And maybe Glavine could be a useful LOOGY, but needing to face at least two other batters under the new rule. . . .