1:00pm: MLBTR has learned that Stephens was released to sign with a team in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League.
12:49pm: Right-hander Jackson Stephens has been released by the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. On the flip side, the Braves have signed right-hander Anderson Pilar to a minor league deal and he’s been assigned to Gwinnett.
Stephens, 31, signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason. He’s actually been putting up good numbers in the minors in a swing role. He has logged 49 Triple-A frames this year over four starts and 18 relief appearances. He has a 2.57 earned run average, 22.2% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 41.5% ground ball rate.
Atlanta has needed plenty of arms at the big league level this year, which each of Chris Sale, Reynaldo López, Grant Holmes, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver and Joe Jiménez missing significant time. Despite the need for innings, they haven’t given Stephens the call. With his decent numbers, it’s possible he opted out his minor league pact.
Whether he triggered some kind of opt-out or this is a straight release, the result is the same. He’ll head out to the open market and assess his opportunities. He has 132 1/3 innings of major league experience with a 4.15 ERA, 19.4% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate and 40.4% ground ball rate.
As for Pilar, it’s not a surprise that Atlanta has scooped him up. They took him from the Marlins in the Rule 5 draft back in December. He came into camp with the club but couldn’t make the most of the opportunity. He tossed 5 2/3 spring innings, allowing nine earned runs on ten hits and six walks while striking out ten.
Atlanta returned him to the Marlins prior to Opening Day. He’s having a decent but not spectacular season. He tossed 44 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.26 ERA, 25.9% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate. His .311 batting average on balls in play and 62.3% strand rate are a bit to the unfortunate side. His 3.11 FIP is more than a full run better than his ERA. The Marlins released him earlier this week and Atlanta has quickly pounced on him. This time, they aren’t bound by the Rule 5 restrictions and don’t even need to give Pilar a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images
Stephens…a good player that would be a lot more appreciated in the pre-analtyics era.
I thought Jackson had done enough to earn a shot as a spot starter. I still do for this atlanta team in 25. It is not a high bar by any stretch.
If the Braves were a 110 win team & lost in the World Series, the comment sections would be equally filled with bellyachers. The internet provides a forum for such types, across all fanbases.
When your entire starting rotation is out with injuries you tend to not win that much in a stacked division.
@boycott based on your username I’m guessing you spend most of your time worrying about pronouns, hair die and searching for something to label as racist. Kind of explains the nonsense you post about baseball.
Or he’s a sad troll willing to change his name to anything topical in an effort to get the attention his parents clearly denied him. Of course it could be both.
So one bad season constitutes I lost future for the Braves?
* a lost future!
It definitely means AA has to stop dumpster diving, like now. This offseason cannot be the nothing burger he served up last offseason, or this trade deadline.