The Braves have designated left-hander Sean Newcomb for assignment, per a club announcement. They’ve also optioned righty Huascar Ynoa to Triple-A Gwinnett and recalled right-hander Touki Toussaint and lefty Dylan Lee in place of Newcomb and Ynoa. Additionally, the Braves announced that Ronald Acuna Jr. is headed out on a minor league rehab assignment.
Newcomb’s DFA comes on the heels of a three-year downturn that have seen the starter-turned-setup-man’s effectiveness dwindle considerably. The No. 15 overall pick by the Angels back in 2014, Newcomb headlined the Braves’ return in the trade that sent Andrelton Simmons to Anaheim. After a solid rookie showing in 2017, he looked to have broken out in 2018 when he made 30 starts and pitched to a 3.90 ERA over the life of 164 innings. Newcomb’s 23% strikeout rate was solid, but his 11.6% walk rate marked a continuation of ongoing command troubles that had plagued him dating back to his minor league days.
Despite a decent start to the 2019 season, Newcomb was optioned to Gwinnett in mid-April and returned as a reliever in early May. The new role seemed to suit him just fine, as he pitched to a 2.89 ERA with improved strikeout and walk rates (25.5% and 8.9%, respectively) in 56 innings the rest of the way. Averaging just shy of 95 mph on his heater and putting the ball on the ground on more than half of the batted balls against him, Newcomb looked the part of a quality late-inning option.
That hasn’t proven to be the case, however. Dating back to 2020, Newcomb has a 6.71 ERA in 51 big league innings and has spent some time shuttling between Gwinnett and the big leagues. He’s walked more than 15% of his opponents since Opening Day 2020, plunked another five batters and thrown seven wild pitches. Newcomb is out of minor league options, and with him yielding four runs on seven hits and four walks through just five innings (26 batters faced) to begin the season, the Braves made the choice to cut bait.
Newcomb is earning $900K this season after avoiding arbitration this past offseason. He’s still owed about $842K of that sum for the remainder of the season, and any team that claims him or acquires him via trade would be on the hook for the remainder of that sum. If a new team is able to help Newcomb right the ship, however, he’d be controllable through the 2024 season via arbitration. Given that his salary is only $200K north of the new league minimum, it’s certainly possible that another club will look to help get the once-successful southpaw back on track. The Braves will have a week to trade Newcomb, attempt to pass him through waivers or release him. If he’s released, the new signing team would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster.
As for Ynoa, he’ll remain on the 40-man roster and hope to work toward another big league shot after an awful start to the season. The former Twins prospect, acquired in the deal that briefly sent Jaime Garcia to Minnesota, had a short breakout last year when he pitched to a 3.09 ERA over an eight-start stretch that spanned 43 2/3 frames. Ynoa, however, suffered a broken hand when he punched the bench following a poor start and spent two months on the injured list. When he returned, he posted a 5.05 ERA in 46 1/3 frames, and those struggles have not only continued but escalated in 2022. So far this year, he’s made two starts, both shorter than four innings, and yielded five earned runs in each.
The news on Acuna is a welcome sight for Braves fans, as it signifies that — barring any setbacks in his rehab from last year’s ACL tear — he’ll be back with the big league club within a month’s time. Minor league rehab windows are capped at 30 days, so Acuna will be back by mid-May, health-permitting.
The dodgers really got to em huh
Freddie HR; Kimbrel save
Brutal pill for ATL fans to swallow
*WORLD CHAMPIONS
Is a much easier pill to swallow with the 2021 World Series ring on… lol
I don’t know, not like the Dodgers didn’t get one right before. If anything 2022 is the rubber match. Not interested in watching the Dodgers play for another one while the Braves sit at home.
2020 was a fake season. That Dodgers run from 1955-1965 was very impressive though.
The Braves run in the 90’s was pretty fruitless if we’re all being honest. How many championships came out of it? Pipe down.
I didn’t know they were giving rings to fans these days. Good for you.
@You Can Put It In The Books
No one is denying that. Atlanta definitely should have won in 1991 and 1996 at the very least. The point is this…if the ’90s Braves are going to be labeled “choke artists” then the Dodgers should be as well…but for some reason the media loves to worship them.
Way overdue on Nuke. Hopefully he can find a team that can get thru to him. He just needs tp accept he’s a review pitcher and to trust his stuff and throw a occasional strike.
it’s the third time already this young season that a pitcher who faced the Dodgers the day before was then DFA’d lol. I know it’s based on a lot of other factors but just seems funny. Twins did it to two pitchers.
People get optioned designated all the time. Nothing to do with the dodgers, newcomb hasn’t been good for years and ynoa hasn’t played well since before he broke his hand last year. Still a long season to go
Not surprising news based on recent performances.
Glad Acuna is back soon.
Long way to go and a lot of potential for a setback.
Maybe he can get back on track if a team like Oakland or Pittsburgh nabs him
Good , neither can harness their stuff , time to try someone else .
That was a horrendous trade for the Braves old regime.
It really was. I still think someone in the hierarchy was holding on to Newcomb because they didn’t wanna admit that trade was garbage.
I hated giving up Simmons but the World Series title helps quite a bit. Hopefully there’s another one in the near future.
I don’t think anyone in the organization would lift a finger to help John Hart – whom made the Simmons-Newcomb trade, partially because SS Albies was the top prospect at the time. Considering Simmons’ team-friendly deal, that really was a bad trade.
I know it looks bad in retrospect considering the success Simba had with the Angels, but at the time, Newcomb was the top Angels pitching prospect and was considered to be a near top of rotation arm. It was a huge move from Billy Eppler as it was one of his first moves as the Angels GM. From the Angels fans perspective, many wondered if giving up top young pitching was the *right* move. Turned out okay.
What is a near top of the rotation arm? There were plenty of questions about him, below is from fangraphs
Newcomb has the ceiling of a high-end starter, but with some sequencing and command issues that need to be addressed, his likely future role is a bit lower than that. I think it balances out to give him room to grow on his command and feel, though with a slightly lower ceiling than might be expected given his overall stuff.
FV/Role: 55, #3/4 Starter
Near top would be a 2 or 3. He was never projected as an ace and although my reference was not fangraphs, your fangraphs clip pretty much reflects that. High ceiling but definitely issues to keep him from his potential.
Dodgers out here destroying careers
Dodgers fans out here trying to pretend they didn’t get sent home by this team last year lol
Injuries to the Dodgers Muncy & Turner had a lot to do with that. If the Dodgers were at full strength last year’s NLCS probably has a different outcome.
Lucky for the braves then that they did not have any players hurt.
@mrblue2
The Braves had a ridiculous number of injuries last year. That’s not a valid excuse.
The Braves got lucky last year. Luck runs out. You’d better hope they’re magicians this year with all the “what ifs” coming off injury. Good luck.
Someone is butt hurt the. Raves won last year, lol
@You Can Put It In The Books
The Braves have won the division four years in a row. There was no “luck” involved. They simply played better than the rest of the NL East. Winning the World Series is not easy. You have to get hot at the right time and you have to get all the breaks. The Braves won because they consistently gave themselves opportunities. You can’t win the World Series if you’re never in the postseason.
Oh we were and it sucked. But yeah, it was nice to watch the Braves get beat bad last night by their old guys.
Newcomb will definately get claimed
Never make it to the waiver wire. Somebody will trade for him. Rays’ reclamation project?
Orioles need pitching.
The irony is that signing Matt Harvey only increased their need for pitching. Newcomb can line up to slide into his spot when Harvey is DFAd after a couple appearances
Man the Simmons trade is brutal in retrospect. I dont think people appreciate but Simmons first full season with the Angels iirc was the highest defensive value season in the history of baseball.
It’s a bummer he got caught up in the conspiracy theories and got injured because he does not get nearly enough respect.
What conspiracy theory are you referencing?
which theory?
At the end of his Angels career he was posting quite a bit of anti-covid, government conspiracy stuff on his Twitter and IG.
He strikes me as a smart, curious and sensitive dude, but man did he get caught up in some wild ideas. Also, it bit him in the behind because he fell into some serious depression and had to take some time off.
He also made some racist remarks coming out of high school that became public day after he almost pitched a no hitter with Braves. He wasn’t the same after that.
So depression and suicidal thoughts are a conspiracy now? Clown comment.
Do some research before you comment nonsense, Simmons is a deranged conspiracy theorist. Check his twitter.
How dare Simmons think for himself
The powerful would never lie to us.
Sheep
Why so disingenuous with your comments? Who ever said the powerful don’t lie? If you intended to show even a little honesty, you’d have acknowledged that some people aren’t credible in their beliefs, and think substituting evidence with feelings is valid and rational.
Are you a lemming?
“I love the poorly educated.”
Everyone is a conspiracy theorist after Covid. You have to be dumb to not ask questions now.
No, everyone isn’t a conspiracy theorist after Covid, but if you want to consider yourself one, please go ahead.. There’s a difference between being a conspiracy theorist and questioning the authorities, especially if you’ve taken the time to gather information from reputable sources.
How much you wanna bet this guy’s “reputable sources” come from internet posts from a guy wearing a tin foil hat
It was a brutal trade at the time, not just in retrospect. They tried so hard to sell it. Remember newcombs first start? He was throwing 94 mph sliders and 100 mph fastballs. Bullpen guys came in, had never broken 95 and radar gun was throwing up triple digits for them too. They knew it was a bad trade and were trying to make it look good.
Newcomb needs to be gone. Ynoa is probably a bullpen guy.
Who needs a new comb?
I’d like to see the Angels bring back Sean Newcomb. Better than Brian Moran.
I don’t understand the need to cut young pitchers for a veteran lefty you only plan to carry for a few games. Especially so early in the season when performance has yet to be evaluated
This is why Dave Roberts doesn’t care about no hitters/perfect games. Newcombe was never the same after that 135 pitch near no hitter against LA
If I’m Newcomb, I look at the Dodgers and Giants. Small sample size given its April, but Heaney is a new man in Dodger blue and Cobb magically found three MPH on his sinker in the City.
If the Dodgers can resurrect Hean-dog, they can fix anyone. And we know what the Giants have already done with Gausman & co.
Newcomb can’t choose his destination yet, he was DFA-ed. Meaning teams in reverse order of standings can claim him or Braves can work out a trade. If neither happens and he gets released, at that point, he and his agent could choose where to go. Unlikely it gets to that point. Plenty of teams like PIT, Bal, Tex, Ari who are rebuilding would be happy to take a flyer on him. And then you have contenders who have been riddled by pitching injuries, like Tampa, who could get in the mix too.
Tru dat. I jumped the gun, didn’t I? Given his pedigree and salary, he will get snapped up quickly. Thanks.
Heaney has always ran hot and cold, If he is still this effective in June you will have a point.
Exactly. I see that Heaney has made improvements, but someone like him needs a solid season of these numbers for me to believe he’s legit.
I didn’t care for that trade at the time because I thought the Angels gave up essential pitching for a shortstop, which we already had in Erick Aybar. I was wrong. Simmons was fun to watch in the field.
I’m 100 years old (well, close) and Simba’s the best I’ve ever seen; he takes it to the next level. Even last year when he made a relay throw, I thought was humanly impossible; caught, pivoted, perfect throw to plate. All in about a milli-second.
Please Mets, Hefner can fix this guy. So much upside
As horrible as Ranger’s BP has been, they should take the risk, Perhaps a swap of Demarcus Evans for Newcomb in a change of scenery option.
PM- is the phone with his agent. Come back to the Angels
Newk’s needed a change of scenery for awhile.
I guess that the Braves had finally seen Ynoa-gh of Newcomb….
Never mind, I’ll boo myself for that one.
Yyyy.. Noa. You must be a new comber. BOO!
Wow, they did exactly what I said they will do except they sent Ynoa done instead of putting him in the bullpen (for now).
Sadly, Touki is terrible and the Braves back-end of the rotation is not better in any way
Curious to see if they would put Strider in the rotation.
Would make sense to me. Probably saves the bullpen more by having him log 4-6 innings a start than giving the start to someone the bullpen will have to bail out for 6-7 innings.
They’ll probably just scale back to 5 SP’s now that most of the guys are stretched out and keep using Strider in that long role. If they try to start him he’ll probably have similar issues as Yona. Striders 3rd pitch isn’t major league ready.
Personally, I still think Muller is the best option for the starter’s role out of all the guys available. I like Strider, but I don’t think he is ready for the starter’s role yet.
I understand it is early, but we have seen Ynoa/Touki/Davidson/Muller rotation for a few years now. It is time to go outside the organization and acquire a good starting pitcher.
You have no farm system left, little buddy. Good luck getting a starter. Oops.
I would rather have a somewhat depleted farm system and a trophy than have a top farm system with no trophy.
Broadcasters mentioned they were letting strider pitch multiple innings and running his pitch count up on purpose. He is being readied for a start.
This was an overdue move.
Newk just doesn’t seem to be panning out in ATL. He’s got great stuff and it’s a shame but it is what it is. This was a final tryout from the front office & it didn’t go well…
Ynoa would probably work out okay in the bullpen but he needs an effective 3rd pitch to be a starter.
Ready to see Lee in a more stable/permanent role in ATL to see what he’s really got.
Tooki is like a box of chocolates. Hopefully he can throw strikes consistently. His stuff has always been good.
Would have been good to see Tucker Davidson get the call up but i’m assuming the front office wants a full year of consistent starts @ AAA maybe?
The Braves are a disaster right now. And nobody is coming to clean up the mess since they traded away the farm instead of resigning their homegrown first baseman. Oops.
@You Can Put It In The Books
It’s 14 games into the season. The Braves are 6-8, not 2-12. Obviously it’s not a good record but they haven’t buried themselves and we’re not even 10 percent of the way through the season yet. The only prospect I wish we hadn’t traded is Langeliers. We can live without the others.
Just realized Newcomb is out of options…he may very well pass through waivers. He’s been terrible.
Nope. Too talented. The Braves just didn’t know how to fix him.
ABOUTTTTTTTTT TIME! I’ve been over Newk for 2 plus seasons. It seemed like he pouted when they didn’t let him start, Bro, you don’t throw enough strikes!!! Need another starter period. Not in panic mode yet but the starters and this offense as a whole is station to station. Need to get Ronald back and push everyone down a slot. Albies needs to hit behind Riley.
You should be panicking.
Currently 1 game under .500 after 6 games on the road against SD and LAD with one of the best players in baseball still out. Not panicking at all. SP across the league has been slow this year, I think due to the short spring. We have one of the best GMs in MLB. Moves he made won a ring. LAD consistently throws more money at players and still got beat by ATL in the NLCS. Other teams should be worried. Not ATL.
SOROKA NEEDS TO RETURN
Soroka needs a new leg first. Guy is toast, sorry little buddy.
Newcomb to the Orioles for DJ Stewart. Two former first rounders, both might benefit from a change of scenery. If not, neither team loses anything.
One of the better proposals I’ve ever seen. Makes too much sense, so it won’t happen.
if Stewart isn’t out of options, the O’s can pass and claim Newcomb off waivers.
They don’t have to give up dj. if he’s out of options, thats different.
Orioles just DFA’d Stewart. The plot thickens…(ok, not really)
Simmons was great defensively, but couldn’t hit above average.
I think the reds or orioles might claim Newcomb,
So many braves trades from that era not quite working. few are.
Since no one asked…I’m all for giving Strider a shot at the rotation. I’ll go ahead and make a few calls here shortly, after I finish this MASH marathon.
Now the Braves can close the chapter on one of the worst trades in Braves history. I thought it was a poor trade when it happened and it only got worse over the years since.
Fortunately the Braves have a number of young pitchers who will probably be ready to step up this year – Muller, Davidson, Lee.
eh, barker for brett butler, et al was worse
they’re really bailing on Ynoa already?
Should have traded him back when he a shred of value left. I mean heck, surely we could have traded him for a bag of balls or ptbnl last year
Orioles need SP and they should take a chance with Sean.
let’s guess on this ! Will Alex Dickerson be the next DFA when Acuna comes back? Should have resigned jJoc & soler!!
New York will pick him up and fix him. He’s too talented and will be of use elsewhere. Thanks AA.
When’s Spring break over and you have to go back to school?
@Smacky
It’s so obvious that “You Can Put It In The Books” is actually “MetsFan22.”
I don’t know who that is, @48.
Idk why the mets could never hit Sean Newcomb , he pitched like Kofax vs the mets…. I’m hoping he gets released and gets scooped up by another team, the guy still young lefty and throws hard maybe a change of scenery will do him good