The Braves have signed infielder Andrew Velazquez, and left-hander Ben Bowden to minor league contracts, as per both players’ MLB.com profile pages. For Velazquez, it’s a return to the organization, as he elected free agency after being outrighted off the Braves’ 40-man roster at the start of November.
His trip through the market will now take him back to Atlanta, as Velazquez is still seeking his first big league appearance in a Braves uniform. The Braves claimed Velazquez off waivers from the Angels in early September but he played exclusively at Triple-A Gwinnett, as Atlanta never had an injury situation develop that would’ve gotten Velasquez a look on the Major League roster.
This same type of depth role probably awaits Velazquez in 2024, though since the Braves dealt Nicky Lopez to the White Sox, Velazquez might have a better shot at claiming a bench spot. Both glove-first players, Lopez is projected for a $3.9MM arbitration salary and Velazquez $740K, though due to the non-tender, Velazquez isn’t on any kind of guaranteed salary as a minor league signing.
The 29-year-old Velazquez has appeared in each of the last six Major League seasons, hitting .189/.244/.293 over 624 plate appearances. Most of that action (349 PA) came with the Angels in 2022, when Velazquez ended up assuming mostly everyday shortstop duties when David Fletcher fell out of favor with the team. While he didn’t produce anything at the plate, Velasquez was a big help on defense, with +11 Defensive Runs Saved, +3 Outs Above Average, and a +3.0 UZR/150 in 906 innings at shortstop.
However, his defensive numbers were all deep into the minuses over 233 1/3 innings last year, as Velazquez appeared in only 54 games and spent most of 2023 in Triple-A. It could be just a small sample size issue, though given Velazquez’s lackluster offense, he needs to be at least an above-average glove to get him any chance of sticking as a big league backup. In terms of versatility, Velasquez has played mostly shortstop, with some time at second base and center field, and a handful of appearances at third base and left field earlier in his career.
Bowden’s MLB resume consists of 35 2/3 relief innings over 39 appearances with the Rockies in 2021. A second-round pick for Colorado in the 2016 draft, Bowden has posted a lot of strikeouts during his minor league career, yet also a lot of walks and home runs. Spending most of his minor league time in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League hasn’t helped in that regard, though Bowden also gave up eight homers in 52 1/3 innings pitching with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate in 2023 (with a 4.64 ERA, 32.2% strikeout rate, and 13.6% walk rate).
The Phillies, Giants, and Rays have all gotten looks at Bowden after Tampa first claimed him off waivers from the Rockies in April 2022, so the southpaw’s ability to miss bats is still a point of interest for clubs. Atlanta now becomes the latest team to see if Bowden can harness his control enough to become a viable option for the Major League bullpen.
Reds resigned Reiver Sanmartin and signed Alex Blandino to minor deals. Whitesox also signed Mark Payton to minors deal
Blandino a future coach/manager…
Bowden a relation to ex-GM Jim Bowden???
Or ex-coach Bobby Bowden?
Bowden is the ex general manager same guy
“Hitter friendly pacific coast league”
“Hitter friendly pacific coast league”
“Hitter friendly pacific coast league”
You guys are broken records with that!!!! How could we not all know this by now??? It is mentioned in every sentence concerning the PCL!!!
Context is helpful to new readers of MLBTR.
Gimme a break!!! Not EVERY SINGLE TIME the PCL is mentioned!! That is called “over kill” buddy!
Chill Francis
Don’t be such a lil weenie vtadave. Didn’t mean to scare you.
Its not as bad as seeing articles everywhere that say “X, formerly Twitter” or some such crap. Yes. We know Twitter changed its name.
Dude I quickly scanned your post & read it as “Hitler Friendly Pacific Coast League.” And I was like “ohhh no, here we go…” But thankfully that’s not what you wrote lol. Catastrophe averted. Ha.
Thank you Atlanta for ensuring Velasquez doesn’t return to the Angels
Meh, you’re welcome..lol He’ll likely never see the ML club, and if he does then the Braves just might be doomed either way…
He seems like a pretty good AAA hitter, so hopefully he can help them win that all important AAA title!! lol
This is a really stupid comment. If you go and look at the Angels minor league affiliates you are going to find a half dozen of these sorts of players. The Angels didn’t sign him to a minor league contract because they have another player just like him except with a different name.
Actually it’s a spot on comment. The Angels used him way too much at the MLB level. Squid was a poster boy for how shallow the Angels depth has been.
The GM waited too long to get in some new blood. Instead he fired his manager sending the season into a freefall.
Couldn’t agree more. Everyone needs to understand that Velazquez cannot hit – point blank. No one can fault the Angels for not giving him every opportunity to succeed. Great in the field, but expect nothing from him offensively.
holy crap please give us an actual signing instead of a bunch of canned goods
(Can’t really blame the MLBTR Writers when the Hot-Stove feels like Uranus right now.)
These signings are for the AAA Gwinnett team. The Braves have 9 roster spots and will surely be using a few of them for infield and outfield bench players.
I think the Braves have two or possibly three ML slots open, including a SP and a left fielder. The other six will go to minor leaguers.
Why who is the braves backup infielder?
At this moment only Vaughn Grissom.
The Braves have 31 on their 40 man roster, so they have 9 spots available
Exactly so why does bham think one of the 9 spots won’t go to an infielder
I mentioned 2 or 3 slots. The third slot will likely go to an infielder. Tromp might be promoted again to be 3rd catcher. If Lopez really is our SP acquisition, then I could see another outfielder, possibly part of a platoon duo in LF.
I believe the Major League squad has closer to three or maybe even four open spots left, depending on what they decide to do with Grissom.
1 SP
1 LF
1 Backup SS/UT
(1 Backup OF)
Bowden has a horrible era in the minors but 76 strike outs in 52.1 IP. And he’s a lefty I always say this about relief pitchers they can go from being awful to suddenly figuring it out and vice versa. And if you’re a lefty that can get strike outs you will get opportunities.
You’re absolutely correct. It’s why I never want the Braves to put to much money into their bullpen. Relief pitcher are to frequently volatile.
Well, I send my condolences..lol Because the Braves have used a sizeable portion of their available funds into their bullpen so far this off-season by re-signing Pierce Johnson and Jimenez, and then bringing in Bummer and Lopez, who will almost certainly end up in the pen.
That’s not even counting Minter who I’m sure is due a small raise. Plus, don’t forget Iglesias’ $15+ million he’s tied to as well for the next two seasons.
I dont think either Matzek or Lee, who they gambled taking chances on, will cost very much, so there’s that at least. lol
That’s pretty much 6-7 of their pen arms taking up at least $4-$5 mil, which ends up being a fairly sizeable chunk of payroll.
That’s really been AA’s philosophy though, since he’s come to Atlanta. He wants an extremely deep and talented bullpen, and he doesn’t mind spending some money if he can put together one of the better pens in the league.
Knock on wood, but so far the vast majority of his moves have been pretty successful, and he has been able to consistently provide this team with a strong bullpen.
If I had to make an educated guess, I’d say right now they’re set to spend about roughly $40-$42 million on their bullpen. Do you think that is too much for 8-9 guys??
Personally, I think that’s pretty good considering their sheer amount of depth and quality options they have available at their disposal..