The Braves announced Wednesday that they’ve placed right-hander Reynaldo Lopez on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder. Lopez was pulled from last night’s start after a significant velocity drop, and manager Brian Snitker said after the game he was headed for an MRI. The results of that imaging have not yet been revealed, but there’s obviously enough concern to shut Lopez down for what amounts to the rest of the regular season. In Lopez’s place, Atlanta recalled righty Daysbel Hernandez from Triple-A Gwinnett.
In addition to the Lopez move, Atlanta shuffled its infield mix. The Braves selected the contract of recently acquired infielder Cavan Biggio from Gwinnett and optioned fellow infielder Luke Williams to Triple-A in his place. In order to open a spot for Biggio on the 40-man roster, right-hander Jimmy Herget has been designated for assignment.
The loss of Lopez is yet another blow to an injury-decimated Braves roster that’s currently without Spencer Strider (UCL surgery), Ronald Acuna Jr. (torn ACL), Austin Riley (broken hand), Ozzie Albies (broken wrist) and A.J. Minter (hip surgery) for the balance of the season. Whit Merrifield, whom the Braves signed in the wake of Albies’ injury, wound up sustaining a broken foot last week and is also on the shelf.
Atlanta has patched the lineup over with midseason signings/acquisitions of Jorge Soler, Gio Urshela, Ramon Laureano and now Biggio. They’ve managed to stay afloat and in a tightly contested race with the division-rival Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot, but this latest hit will further test the team’s depth and the production of that patchwork set of replacements. The rotation currently features Chris Sale, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and solid rookie Spencer Schwellenbach. When Lopez’s turn next arises, the Braves will likely turn to one of Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver, Allan Winans, Hurston Waldrep or Ian Anderson to step into his spot.
While nearly all of those in-house options have either already had past MLB success (Anderson, Elder in particular) or has been a top-tier prospect (Waldrep, Smith-Shawver), it’s not realistic to expect any of the bunch to produce at the same level as Lopez, even over a short period.
Lopez’s move from reliever to starter this season caught the entire industry by surprise, but even more remarkable than the switch itself has been how well it’s paid off. The right-hander made the All-Star team and deservingly so, as he’s pitched to a brilliant 2.03 ERA on the season, striking out 26.3% of his opponents against an 8.1% walk rate. Lopez has only allowed more than two earned runs in three of his 24 starts this season, and he’s yet to surrender more than four runs in any appearance this season.
As for Biggio, Atlanta will be his third team this season. He’s suited up for his longtime Blue Jays club and the Dodgers in addition to a minor league run with the Giants organization. In 74 games and 219 plate appearances, he’s logged a bleak .197/.316/.306 batting line with a huge 32% strikeout rate. The second-generation big leaguer still draws plenty of walks (11%), but even that’s a departure from the massive 16% clip he turned in at his best earlier in his career. Biggio’s contact skills and power output have eroded over the years, and this season’s 81.9 mph average exit velocity and 16.2% hard-hit rate are both the worst among all MLB hitters with at least 200 plate appearances.
The Braves will be hoping for at least some semblance of a rebound. It’s not realistic to expect Biggio to turn the clock back to 2019, when he hit 16 homers and swiped 14 bases in just 100 games as a rookie, but he should at least be able to get on base at a decent clip near the bottom of the reworked lineup.
In order to get Biggio onto the roster, the Braves will part ways with the veteran Herget, who’d been pitching with Gwinnett recently. The 31-year-old posted a 4.38 ERA in 12 1/3 innings with Atlanta earlier this season and has a 3.30 ERA in 30 minor league innings between the Braves and Angels organizations this year. Herget has been an up-and-down member of the bullpen with the Braves, Angels and Rangers in recent years but has generally been successful working in largely low-leverage situations. He has a career 3.54 ERA in 155 big league innings and has fanned 22.2% of opponents against a 7.4% walk rate.
Herget will be out of options next season and would’ve been arbitration-eligible this winter. If another club picks him up, he can be controlled for three more seasons, but he won’t be optionable next year and would have to clear waivers before any team could assign him to the minor leagues.
Luke Jackson: Firestarter lives another day. Need more 12-run games to give him IP.
If a team has an underperforming veteran on a long term contract, with 2-4 seasons left on the deal.
Could the team and the player come to an agreement to defer the balance of the money due over say 20 years, and then said player retires, and the balance of the money gets defered for luxury tax purposes?
Or would said team be investigated for attempting to circumvent luxury tax payments?
I think the issue with that would be, “the player retires”.
Take the Nationals for example….they could buy out Strasburg’s contract and come to a deal. However, does the player actually retire. Strasburg actually does want to retire, but that doesn’t mean every player will want to retire.
The initial issue is that if a player retires, he forfeits the balance of his contract.
If it is due to injury, than it is a insurance issue surely.
If it is a lack of performance issue, the team can either DFA and eat the money that way, only saving the prorated league minimum if said player is signed by another team, or keep the player on their 26 man roster, and eat the money that way, or get saved by a trade and eating most of the money by adding said player to a promising prospect in a salary dump, or a bad contract for bad contract trade, with both teams hoping a change of scenery rejuvinates said players.
This question that I brought up in the op is assuming said player recognizes that he lost it, and wants to go out without losing his guaranteed money, in a negotiation that benefits the player by him keeping his money, and benefits the team by restructuring the payments to said player, gaining financial flexibiliity by opening cap space.
“This question that I brought up in the op is assuming said player recognizes that he lost it, and wants to go out without losing his guaranteed money”
This is why I brough up Strasburg. He wants to retire, but wants to keep his guaranteed money also. They were working out a buyout, but that fell through meaning Strasburg still has not officially retired.
Doron
“Could the team and the player come to an agreement to defer the balance of the money due over say 20 years, and then said player retires, and the balance of the money gets defered for luxury tax purposes?”
Sure
But, what do you think that would help?
For one, the Yankees with DJ LeMahieu.
So it would essentially function as a buyout I take it?
Doron
Walk me through it
Who do you think it helps to do that and why?
ROFL!!!
I would think that pride would lead an underperforming player to take a buyout and retire.
Anthony Rendon for instance, I think he is a thief that is legally stealing money.
DJ simply lost it in the last 2 seasons, in 2022 he was still effective.
If I was a team owner paying such money, as well as paying Luxury Tax, I would surely attempt to add an option once every 5-7 seasons to buy out an underperforming veteran on a long term deal to open space under the Luxury Tax Threshold.
Doron
Again. Who do you think this would help and why?
Use DLM as an example if you need. How would you restructure the contact?
You are completely clueless when it comes to contracts I see. Please stop posting such nonsense. Both sides take risks in any contract and the risks are priced into the agreement. No one should be forced to give up money because they got hurt playing the sport they were paid to play. Really shameful you made this argument.
Doron
“I didn’t say give up money, I said restructure and defer.”
How’s that going to help either the player or the team?
It’s pretty obvious.
Using DJ as an example, he = A $15 million luxury tax hit for the next 2 seasons.
For “”arguments sake””, say the Yankees and DJ agree to a $10 million lump sum, payable upon signing said agreement, and then defer the balance of $20 million over say 10 years, with 3% interest pa.
So instead of a 15 million hit, the funds are essentially paid over 10 years, with a $10 million hit in 2025, and 2 mil a year over 10.
I think that there are 2 major adjustments that need to be added to the next CBA.
1. Said underperforming clause, that would help a team remove a luxury tax hit once every 5-7 years, while paying 100% of their obligation to said player,
2. MLB version of the NBA’s Larry Bird Exception, players that come up through the system, or that are traded for using prospects, do not count against the Luxury Tax, only Free Agents.
A 3rd suggestion would be a fine of 10’s of millions on owners that pocket luxury tax payments made to thier teams, that do not re-invest 100% of said funds for players to improve their teams.
Doron
“It’s pretty obvious.
Using DJ as an example, he = A $15 million luxury tax hit for the next 2 seasons.
For “”arguments sake””, say the Yankees and DJ agree to a $10 million lump sum, payable upon signing said agreement, and then defer the balance of $20 million over say 10 years, with 3% interest pa.”
As I figured, you don’t understand finance
“I didn’t say give up money”
In your example the player is giving up a ton of money
My Mute List is somewhere around 75 and I bet you’re on it 10 different times, sockpuppet.
@Doron At the end of the day, the MLBPA does not want to lower a player’s AAV even though a player like DJL would effectively pocket the same money.
Think about how the Q.O. every season is calculated. If the top 125 salaried players all agree to defer/restructure, that keeps the Q.O. amount down. In the long-run, AAV salary suppression does the union a disfavor for their next CBA negotiations.
I would imagine the player and team can agree to anything for payment of the contract – look at Bobby Boniilla’s neverending payment.
As far as luxury tax purposes, no, they shouldn’t get an easy out. Strasburg had issues before the contract was signed. The Nationals had an inkling that the contract might end poorly. Why should the Nationals be allowed to get tax relief for their own mistake? That’s the risk of a long-term contract.
I wouldn’t have any issue with tax relief for non-baseball emergencies – the player is killed in a car crash, for instance. It’s horrific, sudden, and unpredictable.
No, this isn’t like the nfl where a contract can be restructured like that. Only on the initial signing, ohtahni for example, a lot of deferred money. The deferred money counts against the luxary tax when it’s paid out. The gnats eventually allowed Strasberg full retirement with full payout of the contract earlier this year.
What happened to Albert pujols 10 year service contract, I don’t know.
this is not true, the amount the Dodgers are paying Ohtani in 2035 does not count against their luxury tax number for the 2035 season.
HHH
“the amount the Dodgers are paying Ohtani in 2035 does not count against their luxury tax number for the 2035 season.”
Correct. It counts against 2025.
Yes they can come to an agreement. The only reason the player would do so is they don’t want to continue the grind of a baseball season
oyd
“The only reason the player would do so is they don’t want to continue the grind of a baseball season”
Or because they want more money
Why would a team give more money to a retiring player?
Edit, the Bonilla contract only happened due to the Madoff ponzi scheme
oyd
“Why would a team give more money to a retiring player?”
1) you said the ONLY reason a player would do it is to give up the grind. To get more money is another reason they would do it
2) ask Doron. This whole thing is their idea
3) to lower the luxury tax hit
A simple answer is a no. Once a contract is set and registered at MLB you cannot change it.Unless
I was wondering when they’d make some move related to Biggio. I’m a big Luke Williams fan for some reason, sad to see him go. He seems to always be playing hard.
He is still with the Braves, just sent back down to AAA
Luke Williams plays with a lot of heart….but he is 28 so if he does not pick it up soon he will face a decision
AA losing a bit of his magic. Can’t deny the Braves were really on a roll for a while and every move they made seemed to work, but injuries are really mounting this year and they aren’t getting the contributions they got in season’s past from secondary players. Have to wonder why Ian Anderson is still in the minors and counting on Cavan Biggio to give you AB’s in a playoff race is horrifying.
BIGGIO!…good luck,
Biggio just keeps getting chance after chance and his 2nd cousin, Mike Smallio, can’t even get a look.
Great to see him up and he”ll be with a familiar face with Merrifield and lots of Blue Jay connections through the Braves system. He should work well near the bottom of the line up with his constantly over looked ability to know the strike zone and take walks
Didn’t see this kind of season coming from Sale. I think he finally has a CY Young locked up. Maybe going to NL helped even though inter league has been around his entire career.
“Didn’t see this kind”…The Redsox and Craig Breslow certainly didn’t see it coming. The Sox paid for the down(injuries)Sale years and let the Braves swoop in, to reap the benefits of the “real” Chris Sale years.
I think I’d advise (rookie)GMs not to deal with Alex A., lest they get fleeced.
They are still set up well for postseason with their starters but, tho nobody mentioned it, Sales velo was down to mostly 90-92 from his typical 95-99 in his last start. He did reach back for 97 once in the last inning (and a few 95) so perhaps he’s trying to rest his arm (a bit, especially against a weak lineup).
Cavan “the bum” biggio
Finally some decent moves by the Braves but probably too late.
Braves really need to take a long hard look and not even think about resigning Fried.
My stalker, GtV, is back
Just liked 10 of my comments.
Good to see that my mute was the correct move.
Wow, what an upgrade!
As always, Apple tv soicks