Braves reliever A.J. Minter underwent season-ending hip surgery today, the team announced. Manager Brian Snitker said last week that Minter was going under the knife, though he didn’t specify whether it’d be a season-ending procedure. That seemed to be the case when Atlanta moved Minter to the 60-day injured list in tandem with the Gio Urshela signing. Today’s announcement officially closes the book on any chance of the southpaw making a return in the playoffs.
Minter’s year concludes with a 2.62 ERA across 34 1/3 innings. He fanned an above-average 26.1% of opponents against an 8.2% walk rate. That’s a solid strikeout and walk profile but a tick below the numbers he’d posted from 2022-23. Minter fanned more than 30% of his opponents in each of the previous two years, topping 60 innings in both seasons.
Hip discomfort has plagued Minter for a few months. He initially went on the IL in late May with inflammation. His return from that injury proved relatively short-lived and necessitated the year-ending surgery. It’s possible that marks the end of his Atlanta tenure. The former second-round pick will hit free agency during the upcoming offseason. He still has a shot at a multi-year deal, though that’s not the lock it had seemed earlier in the season.
Dylan Lee stepped into the bullpen in Minter’s place. He’s joined in the relief group by Grant Holmes, who moved back to the bullpen this week. Snitker announced before Tuesday’s game that the Braves were kicking Holmes to relief after they reinstated Reynaldo López from the injured list (X link via David O’Brien of the Athletic). The 28-year-old rookie had made four starts between late July and the middle of this month. He pitched fairly well, working to a 4.57 ERA with an impressive 28% strikeout rate in 21 2/3 innings.
There’s not any room for Holmes to maintain a spot in the rotation unless the Braves wanted to go to a six-man staff. Chris Sale, Max Fried, López, Spencer Schwellenbach and Charlie Morton all have spots secured. Holmes exhausted his minor league options while he was a prospect in the Oakland farm system. The Braves can’t send him to Triple-A without running him through waivers. Holmes has pitched well enough this season that he’d very likely be claimed, so the Braves will keep him in a multi-inning relief capacity. Holmes tossed two scoreless innings against Philadelphia on Tuesday and is up to a 3.45 ERA through 47 frames on the season.
That doesn’t leave much flexibility for any kind of roster maneuvering. Of Atlanta’s eight MLB relievers, only Lee still has options remaining. Schwellenbach is their only starter who can freely be sent down, although he’s pitching so well that the team has no reason to consider doing that. The 13-pitcher limit could eventually push the Braves to make a call on whether to continue carrying both Luke Jackson and Jesse Chavez in the middle innings.
Injuries have been an unfortunate theme for Atlanta throughout the season. That continued this week with Austin Riley suffering a hand fracture that’ll sideline him for well over a month. Urshela is the short-term answer at third base, though the Braves seem to be considering a contingency option in the minors. As Francys Romero reported (on X) earlier this week, Atlanta is giving Yuli Gurriel third base playing time at Triple-A Gwinnett. He had played exclusively first or second base for the Stripers until Riley’s injury; he has started the past two games at the hot corner.
Gurriel signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in April. He’s having a very strong season with Gwinnett, hitting .297/.378/.493 with 12 homers and a strong strikeout and walk profile. That has yet to get him back to the majors after well below-average seasons with the Astros and Marlins in 2022-23. The 40-year-old infielder hasn’t started an MLB game at third base since 2019, instead spending almost all of his time at first base in recent years.
Jackson isn’t long for this team. Chavez’s magic also appears to have worn off. He’s been giving up long balls every outing of late.
Is it possible for a team to give gurriel a major league deal to get him out of AAA?
The only options for him to get on to an MLB roster would to be either released by the Braves and subsequently sign somewhere else with room on their roster (unlikely he finds a major league deal, though) or to get his contract selected by the Braves to their major league roster.
Since Gurriel has not appeared in the majors this year, he is still eligible to be traded.
In all likelihood Fried will sign with the Dodgers or Yankees and Morton will retire. Could see Holmes get a look at a 5th starter spot next spring.
Braves are going to take a huge step back next year in the rotation…No Fried or Morton. Sale has been awesome but still brittle, Strider off a major injury, questionable if Lopez isn’t a 1 year wonder. Elder, Ynoa, and Ian are lost in the wind. Plus we know AA won’t sign any FA of substance. Get ready for another year of rushing prospects and breaking them down smh…..man I hope I’m wrong
@braveshomer: Hope you’re wrong too. Schwellenbach certainly doesn’t look rushed or broken down. After spending the majority of 2024 in mil development, it seems more likely that AJSS and Waldrup won’t next year either. Hackenburg, Burkhalter, Lara, and (especially) Braun are close and may make MLB starts/relief appearances next summer. Ritchie’s on their heels but probably won’t be in the mix until 2026. Anderson’s development of a slider is going well at Gwinnett. His velo is back to pre TJS levels. W/a larger pitch mix, he’ll have a chance to be in the 4/5 starter mix next spring. Think braves95 is right about Holmes. The pitch changes the Braves development staff implemented w/him (less cb, more sliders) have been successful so far. Holmes has good value as a solid swingman even if he can’t claim a rotation spot. Not sure why you think Lopez is a “1 year wonder.” Just as possible that he’ll be stronger next season due to his inning increase this season. Healthy bats and a return to pre 2024 offensive levels should support giving young pitchers even more opportunity next year. Who’s “broken down?” Many pitchers struggle in early MLB looks. Doesn’t mean they’re permanently broken. One man’s “rushed prospect” is another’s fast rising dark horse. The loss of Fried to free agency (and possibly Minter) and Morton to retirement frees up $40M plus. Lopez was a “FA of substance” this past off season. W/good health, the lineup’s set. What else besides a SS or a vet starter will AA spend that cash on? He probably won’t waste money on the biggest FA name (Good!), but that freed up salary will be used for more than getting under a luxury tax that the organization has proved means little to them.
I agree with most of that…However, Schuster, AJSS, Waldrup, etc. were clearly rushed and can stunt their growth vs. signing some good vets to eat innings allowing those guys to develop. Don’t get me wrong Lopez was an awesome find, but he’s manages to go 6 innings while not facing the order a 3rd time which would seems unsustainable. A 3rd time thru the order is when he gets hit pretty hard. Shwellenbach seems like the real deal and Holmes looks like a great swing guy. I just hate they yoyo these guys up and down, then the last several seasons AA and Snit have to patchwork the rotation from the very beginning smh
I would hate to see Fried go anywhere. He is the best left handed pitcher in baseball. The fact that he’s left handed makes him more appealing. I thought it was a mistake to make the Soler deal when we did and I still do, why have two dh. He is going to lose as many games with his defense as he wins with his bat, trade him for salary relief and resign Fried. Pitchers like Max do not grow on trees. The Braves right now have 3 players of the eight that nobody else wanted and they keep on plugging, nobody has quit, they keep on fighting. Go Braves
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
@olereb: I’m a Braves fan (and a Fried fan), but there’s a pretty good case to be made that Tarik Skubal is “the best left handed pitcher in baseball.” W/Fried’s dicey injury profile, it’s risky to sign him to the kind of salary he’ll seek on the open market. An expensive long term deal for an over 30 pitcher w/injury concerns? The Braves need less injury risk in their rotation. Fried’s the Braves union player rep. He’s not giving any team a sweetheart deal. He’ll probably squeeze every nickel he can get—and he’s earned the right to do so. Imo, the Braves have plenty of near ready young pitching that can effectively replace the lost production of Fried and Morton. If the organization doesn’t believe the kids are ready, some or all of Fried and Morton’s (maybe Minter’s too) salaries can be spent to bolster the rotation. Hate to see Max go, but seems likely he will—imo.
Would absolutely love to see Yuli in MLB again!
With all the players the Braves have cycled through this season just patching up the roster the fact that its late August and they haven’t once brought up Gurriel is telling. The number at AAA look decent but there’s obviously something there that’s kept him down
Olson’s health and their putrid outfield has kept him down. They have a lot of part-time OF’s eating roster spots. If Olson went down, Gurriel would be the guy.
Brian Anderson, Luis Guillorme, Joey Wendle. It’s been on the Infield too
@Rsox: Forgot about Wendle. He was on the Braves MLB roster for 3 days—May 24-27—-and didn’t make an appearance. The Braves dfa’ed him on the 27th. He cleared waivers and the Braves outrighted him to AAA Gwinnett, but he refused the assignment. Didn’t play a single game for the organization. He’s been an unsigned FA since that date.
Brian Anderson played the OF and the other guys you mentioned were capable of playing all over the IF. That’s not Gurriel and that’s why he has not been called up yet. His only use on the ML roster so far this year would have been to PH occasionally for a LH batter against a tough LH reliever. But the Braves also have Murphy/Drnaud for that so it would be a waste of a roster spot and wouldn’t be good for Gurriel to only get an AB once a week.
Gurriel was a Houston Cheater. I’d prefer that they trade him back to Houston (who need a 1B) rather than play him in Atlanta.