Braves’ President Alex Anthopoulos Says Payroll Will Increase In 2022
Braves’ president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, who recently added a World Series victory to his resume, spoke with members of the media today about what the club has planned between now and their upcoming title defense in 2022. When it comes to the budget, Anthopoulos said that it will go up next season, though the exact figure is still being finalized. (Twitter link from David O’Brien of The Athletic.)
It’s hardly surprising that ownership is going to invest some more money into the club, given that they surely saw increased revenues from ticket sales and television viewership during their triumphant march to becoming World Series champions. They began the 2021 season with a payroll over $131MM, the highest opening day figure in franchise history, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. In July, they acquired Jorge Soler, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, Joc Pederson, Stephen Vogt and Richard Rodriguez, taking on about $15MM in salary and pushing their season-ending payroll to somewhere in the $145-150MM range. At the moment, their outlook for 2022 is just over $141MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, already fairly close to 2022’s final outlay. Therefore, their offseason strategy will depend upon exactly how much of increase the front office has to work with.
Anthopoulos himself acknowledged that it will be hard to keep all of the outfielders. (Twitter link from Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.) Soler, Pederson and Rosario are all heading into free agency today, leaving the club with a 2022 outfield of Duvall, Cristian Pache and Guillermo Heredia. Ronald Acuna will retake a spot as soon as he’s healthy but isn’t expected to be ready by opening day. There’s certainly room to add to that group, on paper, as long as there’s money available to do it.
Of course, there’s another area that the club surely wants to dedicate some resources to, and that’s bringing Freddie Freeman back into the fold. When it comes to the slugging first baseman, Anthopoulos said, per Burns, “We’ve made it clear we want him to stay. He wants to stay.” The mutual interest in reuniting is understandable, given that Freeman has been with the organization since they selected him in the second round of the 2007 draft and since has become the face of the franchise, but he’s also 32 years old, meaning this is going to be his best shot to land a huge deal in free agency. As much as he may want to return, he’ll also want to take advantage of his first and potentially only trip to the free agent market and can’t be expected to offer huge hometown discounts.
Freeman has been one of the most consistently-excellent hitters over the past decade or so. Since his 2013 breakout, he’s never had a wRC+ lower than 132 and never produced less than 3.3 fWAR, even including the shortened 2020 campaign. In 2021, he hit 31 home runs and slashed .300/.393/.503, good enough for a wRC+ of 135 and 4.5 fWAR. It’s hard to fathom him doing that in any other uniform at this point, but the Atlanta brass will surely have to put some cash on the barrelhead to keep it that way.
Braves Announce Several Roster Moves
The Braves announced a series of roster transactions, including the news that Josh Tomlin‘s 2022 club option has been declined. Left-hander Grant Dayton has been released, and outfielder Terrance Gore has been outrighted to Triple-A. Joining the 40-man roster are outfielder Travis Demeritte and right-hander Alan Rangel, whose contracts were selected from Triple-A. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mike Soroka were also reinstated from the 60-day injured list as procedural moves.
Tomlin has spent the last three years with Atlanta, signing a pair of minor league contracts for the 2019 and 2020 seasons and then inking a one-year Major League deal last winter that paid him $1.25MM in guaranteed salary. That money took the form of a $1MM salary for the season and then a $250K buyout of the team’s $1.25MM club option for the 2022 campaign. The Braves therefore had a $1MM decision to make on Tomlin, and opted to not bring Tomlin back after a rough season for the 37-year-old.
Tomlin posted a 6.57 ERA over 49 1/3 relief innings last year, and was the victim of some bad luck — an ungainly .358 BABIP and a .346 xwOBA was well below his .377 wOBA. That said, even his xwOBA was only in the 15th percentile of all pitchers, and Tomlin allowed more than his usual amount of hard contact. With a very low strikeout rate and whiff rate, this lack of missed bats caught up to Tomlin in a big way. On the plus side, Tomlin still delivered his usual excellent walk rate and spin rates on both his fastball and his curve.
Though a neck strain sidelined Tomlin for much of September, he likely wouldn’t have made the Braves’ postseason roster anyway. The declined option doesn’t necessarily spell the end of his tenure with the club, as Atlanta could look to retain Tomlin via another minor league deal and see if the veteran has anything left in the tank during Spring Training.
Dayton has also been with Atlanta over the last three seasons, and was projected to earn $1.2MM this winter in his final year of arbitration eligibility. The release allows the southpaw to get an early jump on a new job in free agency, rather than wait a few more weeks until the non-tender deadline (and the Braves also free up a roster spot in advance of the 40-man deadline on November 19).
Dayton pitched only 13 innings in 2021, as a shoulder injury kept him on the injured list for much of the last four months of the season. Injuries have plagued Dayton for the last four years, as he missed all of 2018 recovering from Tommy John surgery and he missed a big piece of the 2019 season due to a fractured toe. The southpaw was pretty effective when he was able to pitch in 2019-20, though this year had a 6.23 ERA over his 13 frames.
Gore was signed to a minor league deal last winter and didn’t see any action for the Braves during the regular season, but was on the team’s roster for both the NLDS and the World Series. Gore appeared in one game during the playoffs, pinch-running and being left stranded at first base in the Braves’ 3-0 win over the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLDS. If he wishes, the 30-year-old Gore can decline the outright assignment and look for another contract elsewhere, and contenders might be interested in signing Gore for karma purposes alone. The veteran pinch-running specialist has been a part of the last two World Series championship teams, and has three Series rings in total over his career, despite appearing in only 102 regular-season games from 2014-20.
Joc Pederson Declines Mutual Option
Braves outfielder Joc Pederson has declined his end of a $10MM mutual option in favor of a $2.5MM buyout, the Associated Press reports. Unlike teammate Adam Duvall, who also declined a mutual option this week, Pederson has more than six years of Major League service time and is thus a free agent now that he’s declined his end of the option.
Signed by the Cubs to a one-year deal last winter, Pederson was guaranteed $7MM in the form of a $4.5MM base salary and the $2.5MM buyout on the option he’s now declined. He can’t receive a qualifying offer by virtue of the fact that he was traded midseason (from Chicago to Atlanta), though it’s unlikely he’d have been a candidate for such an offer anyhow.
Pederson, 30 in April, posted similar overall numbers in 256 plate appearances with the Cubs and 173 plate appearances with the Braves, resulting in an overall .238/.310/.422 batting line on the season. He connected on 18 home runs, 19 doubles and three triples.
It’s perhaps encouraging that the left-handed-hitting Pederson, who has some longstanding struggles against left-handed pitching, hit lefties at a solid .265/.348/.378 clip in 2021 — albeit in a small sample of 112 plate appearances. However, it’s also concerning that his typically outstanding production against right-handers dwindled; in 369 plate appearances with the platoon advantage, Pederson slashed an uncharacteristically pedestrian .230/.298/.435.
When the page flipped to the postseason, the “Joctober” narrative took full effect, as Pederson clubbed a pair of pivotal pinch-hit home runs during Atlanta’s NLDS victory over the Brewers. Pederson homered early in the NLCS as well, but his bat went dormant for the remainder of the postseason, as he finished out the playoffs in a 2-for-26 swoon with a walk and eight strikeouts. It’s worth pointing out that, fun as the “Joctober” moniker may be, his career postseason line of .256/.332/.482 now quite closely resembles his lifetime .232/.332/.462 regular-season batting line.
Pederson will now head back out into what he hopes will be a healthier free agent market than he encountered last winter, when many clubs simply opted not to spend on the heels of a 2020 season played without ticket revenues. The expiring collective bargaining agreement will create similar uncertainty for free agents, but it’s likelier that teams will be more amenable to spending than they were last time around. Pederson’s 2021 showing didn’t exactly send his free-agent stock soaring, but it was still an improvement over a woeful .190/.285/.397 showing from that 2020 season. A multi-year deal seems possible, but with a fairly deep crop of corner outfielders available in free agency, he might settle for a second consecutive one-year pact.
Adam Duvall Declines Mutual Option, Will Be Arbitration-Eligible
Braves outfielder Adam Duvall has declined his half of his $7MM mutual option, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald (via Twitter). He’ll receive a $3MM buyout. However, because Duvall has fewer than six years of Major League service time, he’ll remain with the Braves as an arbitration-eligible player — should they wish to tender him a contract. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $9.1MM salary for the veteran slugger.
Duvall signed that one-year deal with the Marlins last winter, after being non-tendered by a Braves team that ultimately reacquired him prior to the trade deadline. The 33-year-old Duvall has long been a strong defender with a perilously low OBP and plenty of power, but he dialed that skill set up to new heights in 2021. Duvall slugged a career-best 38 home runs and posted a whopping 19 Defensive Runs Saved (in addition to a 9.9 UZR and 5 Outs Above Average), but he also turned in a .281 OBP that tied him for the second-worst mark among all qualified hitters in Major League Baseball. The bottom-of-the-barrel OBP was enough for weighted metrics like wRC+ and OPS+ to peg his overall offense at just two to three percent better than the league average.
Still, a 30-homer bat with plus defense in the outfield corners is a plenty useful player, even if Duvall perennially ranks near the bottom of the league in on-base percentage. The projected $9.1MM price point is plenty reasonable for a player who posted 3.1 bWAR and 2.4 fWAR on the season, but it bears repeating that the Braves non-tendered Duvall not even one year ago, when he carried a smaller arbitration projection and was coming off a similar season. In 209 plate appearances with Atlanta in 2020, Duvall hit .237/.301/.532 with 16 home runs — a pace that falls pretty closely in line with this year’s .228/.281/.491 output.
Of course, the Braves have less certainty in their outfield than they did last year — and their World Series win likely gives them some additional resources. A good chunk of that extra cash has to be earmarked for a hopeful Freddie Freeman extension, but the Braves can clearly afford to keep Duvall in the fold if they so choose. And with each of Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler and Joc Pederson set to hit free agency, plus Ronald Acuna Jr. on the mend from an ACL tear and Marcell Ozuna‘s status up in the air following an alleged domestic assault, Atlanta could well decide place a premium on the certainty that’d come from tendering a contract to Duvall.
They’ll have until Dec. 2 to make that call, although with the collective bargaining agreement set to expire one day earlier, on Dec. 1, it’s best not to assume anything transaction-wise from that point forth.
NL East Notes: Anthopoulos, Mets, Afterman, Nationals, Bones
Alex Anthopoulos couldn’t celebrate the Braves‘ World Series triumph with the rest of the organization last night, as the president of baseball operations had to watch from home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. The diagnosis left Anthopoulos “surprised,” as he told Scott Miller of The New York Times, but fortunately, “I’m fully vaxxed, I don’t have any symptoms, I feel great….My family is fine.” To avoid any distractions for the team, Anthopoulos told only manager Brian Snitker and team chairman Terry McGuirk about his diagnosis.
As unusual as the situation was, Anthopoulos got to celebrate with his wife and children, adding to the special moment. The Braves have reached the postseason in each of Anthopoulos’ four seasons at the helm of the front office, and the 44-year-old has now captured his first championship after 10 total years as a general manager (counting his six years with the Blue Jays from 2010-15).
More from the NL East….
- Yankees assistant general manager Jean Afterman declined a request from the Mets to interview about their front office vacancy last week, SNY’s Andy Martino reports (Twitter link). Afterman has worked with the Yankees in the AGM role since 2001, and she received an additional promotion to senior VP in 2012.
- The Nationals officially announced their 2022 coaching staff, including three previously-reported new hires (first base coach Eric Young Jr., third base coach Gary DiSarcina, hitting coach Darnell Coles) and one more newcomer in bullpen coach Ricky Bones. Former bullpen coach Henry Blanco is staying on the Nats’ staff in the new role of catching/strategy coach. This is Bones’ second time working with Washington’s organization, as he previously served as a pitching coach for the Class-A advanced team back in 2005. Bones has been the Mets’ bullpen coach from 2012-21, with a brief stint as a minor league pitching coach in 2019.
Braves Place Adrianza On Postseason Paternity List, Activate Camargo
Per a Tuesday morning press release, the Braves have placed utilityman Ehire Adrianza on the postseason paternity list and activated infielder Johan Camargo ahead of tonight’s World Series Game 6. MLB rules require that Adrianza spend a minimum of one day and a maximum of three on the paternity list, though the latter will not come into play with the season set to conclude in less than 48 hours. Both players are switch hitters capable of offering serviceable defense at multiple positions.
While neither would be likely to see game action with the series shifting back to an AL park, the move represents a marginal downgrade for the Braves, who had used Adrianza as their top pinch-hitting option in the NLCS (when Jorge Soler was sidelined following a positive COVID test) and a secondary option in the World Series. Though he’s hitless in two at bats against the Astros, Adrianza did deliver a crucial two-out double ahead of Eddie Rosario‘s game-deciding three-run homer in the fourth inning of Game 6 of the NLCS. Camargo, who had been on the Braves’ NLCS roster, is hitless in four trips to the plate so far this postseason.
With time at six positions in 2021 in something of a super-utility role, Adrianza also would have likely represented a top option at a number of positions in the event of an injury. He amassed a .247/.327/.401 across 209 plate appearances in his first season in Atlanta — all of which slightly exceeded his career averages — as he helped to bridge the gap that arose following Ronald Acuña Jr.‘s season-ending injury and Marcell Ozuna‘s season-ending legal troubles.
Should such a need arise, it may now fall to Camargo, who slashed .272/.349/.457 across 524 plate appearances as the Braves’ primary third baseman during the 2018 season. The 2019 arrival of Josh Donaldson and subsequent emergence of Austin Riley have largely rendered Camargo surplus to requirements in Atlanta, however. He’s struggled mightily since his breakout 2018, slashing a combined .212/.260/.361 (good for a dismal 58 OPS+), and has recorded a meager two walks and zero hits in 18 big-league plate appearances in 2021.
Camargo has mashed in Triple-A (.958 OPS in 436 PAs this year), however, suggesting his struggles with the parent club may be attributable to a small sample size and irregular playing time. He’s also been a significantly better hitter against lefties than righties, posting an .833 OPS hitting from the right side against .700 from the left, but the Braves are still likelier to turn to mid-season pickup Orlando Arcia should a pinch-hitting situation unexpectedly arise.
Still, Camargo does replace some of Adrianza’s positional versatility, potentially enabling Braves’ manager Brian Snitker to pinch-run for a starter in a late-game situation (speedster Terrance Gore is on the roster) without sacrificing too much defensively. All in all, the move is unlikely to amount to much with the DH in play from Game 6 (and a possible Game 7) of the World Series, but it is possible Camargo may be asked to play a role.
Latest On Mets’ Front Office Search
NOVEMBER 1: The Red Sox are expected to grant Ferreira permission to interview with the Mets, assuming she’s interested in doing so, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (on Twitter).
OCTOBER 30, 1:23PM: Brewers VP of baseball operations Matt Kleine is another candidate the Mets have discussed, as per Martino (Twitter link). With both Kleine and Rodriguez, however, the Mets are wary about approaching the Brewers and Rays since both teams have repeatedly denied New York’s requests to interview other front office personnel in the past. Kleine is believed to be interested, and his hiring could help set the stage for the Mets to land Stearns as a free agent a year from now (or after the 2023 season, depending on the reported vesting option in Stearns’ deal with Milwaukee).
OCTOBER 30, 8:05AM: The Mets’ attempts to hire a new president of baseball operations or general manager has hit its share of roadblocks, and Dodgers assistant GM Jeff Kingston is the latest executive to decline an interview with the team, according to The New York Post’s Mike Puma. However, several other prospective candidates remain, as it seems as though the Mets now could be specifically looking for a general manager, rather than someone to fully take the entire reigns of the baseball ops department.
To this end, Puma writes Rays VP of player development Carlos Rodriguez, and assistant GMs Daniel Adler (Twins), Randy Flores (Cardinals), and Ben Sestanovich (Braves) are all “on the Mets’ radar” as possible candidates. The Mets have also asked the Red Sox for permission to speak with assistant GM Raquel Ferreira, SNY’s Andy Martino reports.
Any of these five executives would be a first-time GM, and ostensibly in charge of the baseball operations department even without the official “president” label. The unusual nature of the Mets’ front office dynamic has led to some questions about how much authority a new GM would have, as team president Sandy Alderson is remaining with the club and has said he’ll be shifting over to focusing on the team’s business matters once a new baseball ops head is in place.
Had Mets owner Steve Cohen been successful in luring one of his big-ticket initial targets (i.e. Billy Beane, Theo Epstein, David Stearns) to New York, it would’ve made for a smoother transition, as any of those execs would’ve been the PBO and had the sway to make their own choice for a general manager to act as their chief lieutenant. However, it is perhaps understandable why Kingston and others have opted out of what could be considered as something of a glorified one-year trial period. If the Mets play well in 2022, a newly-hired GM could be entrusted to become the president of baseball operations; if the Mets struggle, Cohen could resume his search for a major name as PBO, leaving the general manager as perhaps something of a lame duck.
Cardinals GM Michael Girsch, Giants GM Scott Harris, newly-promoted Brewers GM Matt Arnold, and another Dodgers assistant in Brandon Gomes have all declined to be considered for the Mets’ job. For the five names mentioned by Puma and Martino, it is possible any of the Rays, Twins, Cardinals, Braves, or Red Sox could deny New York permission to interview their personnel, though teams usually don’t stand in the way of their executives being offered a promotion.
Kingston technically has experience as a general manager, as he served as the Mariners’ interim GM for the last month-plus of the 2015 season after Jack Zduriencik was fired. Kingston has worked as an assistant GM for the last six seasons (three with the Mariners, three with the Dodgers) and he has been considered for other front office openings in recent years. The Phillies and Angels each had interest in Kingston for their most recent GM vacancies, and Kingston was a finalist for the Angels’ position before the team hired Perry Minasian.
Framber Valdez, Tucker Davidson To Start Game 5 Of World Series
The Astros will turn to Framber Valdez to stave off elimination in tonight’s fifth game of the World Series, while the Braves will kick off a bullpen game with another rookie pitcher. The Braves announced this afternoon that left-hander Tucker Davidson will get the start (or, more accurately, serve as the opener) in what will be Davidson’s first career postseason appearance, and only his sixth career games at the Major League level. Davidson was added to the Braves’ World Series roster as an injury replacement after Charlie Morton suffered a fractured fibula during Game 1.
Davidson made one start for Atlanta in 2020 and then posted a 3.60 ERA over four starts and 20 innings this season, with his most recent MLB outing coming back on June 15 due to a forearm injury. In fact, Davidson has only pitched one game total since that June 15 start, tossing three innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on the final day of the minor league season (October 3).
Though Davidson is one of the better pitching prospects in Atlanta’s farm system, obviously it’s anyone’s guess as to what he’ll be able to deliver on the mound, even in what might amount to just an inning of work. That said, given how the rest of the Braves bullpen has stifled Houston’s lineup throughout the World Series, Davidson’s task is just to avoid disaster and then turn things over to his veteran teammates.
The Braves followed this same script in Game 4, as rookie Dylan Lee worked as the opener and pitched to four batters, recording one out and allowing a run on a hit and two walks. Kyle Wright then entered the game to bail Lee out, and Wright proceeded to toss 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball. A scoreless inning each from Chris Martin, Tyler Matzek, Luke Jackson, and Will Smith later, and Atlanta sealed a 3-2 victory and a commanding 3-1 lead in the Series.
Astros hitters have combined for a meager .206/.291/.298 slash line over the four games against the Braves, with only Michael Brantley and Kyle Tucker showing any consistency at the plate. Starting the southpaw Davidson in Game 5 could be a preventative measure on Atlanta’s part against Houston moving the left-handed hitting Tucker up in the batting order, though the Braves have plenty of other left-handed options on their roster.
The lack of production from the usually-reliable lineup is the biggest issue facing the Astros, as their own pitchers have done a solid job of limiting Atlanta’s offense over the last three games, with only one victory to show for it. In Game 1, however, the Braves hit Valdez hard for five runs over two innings, setting up a 6-2 Atlanta win in the Series opener.
It has been a roller-coaster of a playoffs for Valdez, who has been very shaky outside of his eight-inning/one-run gem against the Red Sox in Game 5 of the ALCS. In Valdez’s other three starts this postseason, he has been torched for 11 runs over nine innings of work. With the season on the line for the Astros, manager Dusty Baker may have a relatively quick hook for Valdez at the first sign of trouble, as Houston will have every available arm at the ready to try and get the Series to a sixth game.
Zack Greinke, Dylan Lee To Start Game 4 Of The World Series
Both starting pitchers have now been announced for tonight’s Game 4 of the World Series, as the Braves have revealed that rookie left-hander Dylan Lee will get the ball to begin what is expected to be a bullpen game against the Astros. For Houston, manager Dusty Baker confirmed last night that Zack Greinke will start, with Greinke also likely in line for an abbreviated outing.
While both pitchers can probably be more accurately described as openers rather than true starters for tonight’s game, the Lee/Greinke matchup represents quite a contrast in experience. Greinke has 18 MLB seasons, 3110 regular-season innings, and 21 postseason appearances on his resume. On the other side of the equation, the 27-year-old Lee didn’t make his Major League debut until October 1, and he has thus far pitched a total of two regular-season innings and 2 2/3 postseason innings in his brief career in The Show.
Lee was included on Atlanta’s NLDS roster but didn’t see any action, and he wasn’t initially on the NLCS roster until Huascar Ynoa had to be replaced due to injury. Lee pitched two frames of relief in the Braves’ 11-2 loss to the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLCS, and he then pitched two-thirds of an inning against the Astros in Game 2 of the World Series.
Originally a tenth-round pick for the Marlins in the 2016 draft, Lee posted some solid numbers in his first four pro season, but Miami released him during Spring Training this year. The Braves inked Lee to a minor league deal, and he responded with some big numbers (1.54 ERA, 30.9% strikeout rate, and a tiny 3.4% walk rate) over 46 2/3 Triple-A innings.
Now, Lee finds himself on the hill in the Fall Classic, becoming the first pitcher to ever make his first Major League start in a Series game (as per the Elias Sports Bureau). Lee will face a probable top three of Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, and Alex Bregman, assuming the Astros stick with the same lineup they’ve deployed throughout the World Series.
Between injuries, two weeks on the COVID-related injured list, and a general lack of effectiveness late in the season, Greinke has been limited to two appearances during the playoffs. He tossed an inning of relief in Houston’s 12-6 loss to the White Sox in the ALDS, and then got the start against the Red Sox in Game 4 of the ALCS. Though the Astros won that game by a 9-2 margin, Greinke only faced nine batters over 1 1/3 innings, walking three batters and allowing a two-run homer to Xander Bogaerts.
These recent results notwithstanding, “if anybody knows how to pitch in a big game, it’s Greinke,” Baker told reporters yesterday. “We don’t know how long he’s going to go. Just give us as much quality as you can, and then we’ll turn it over to somebody else.” Cristian Javier is probably the likeliest candidate to toss bulk innings tonight, as the righty has worked beyond one innings in each of his four postseason outings this year, including 1 1/3 innings against Atlanta in Game 2.
Charlie Morton Undergoes Surgery To Repair Fractured Fibula
Oct. 29: Morton underwent surgery to repair the fracture, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He’s expected to be ready for Spring Training 2022.
Oct. 26: Braves starter Charlie Morton fractured his right fibula during tonight’s game against the Astros, the club announced. He’ll obviously miss the remainder of the World Series, but the team announced that he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training.
Morton got the start in tonight’s World Series opener. He was struck in the leg by a Yuli Gurriel comebacker that turned into a groundout to lead off the second inning. That ball evidently broke Morton’s leg, but he incredibly remained in the game to strike out Chas McCormick and induce a Martín Maldonado line out. Morton even returned to the mound to start the bottom of the third, punching out José Altuve before swelling in the area made it impossible for him to continue.
The Braves will have to rely on their bullpen to finish off what they hope to be a series-opening victory. A.J. Minter has worked a couple innings in relief of Morton, with Atlanta holding onto a 5-1 lead midway through tonight’s game.
Atlanta will obviously have to navigate the rest of the series without their top starter. Max Fried is already lined up to start tomorrow’s Game 2, with Ian Anderson the most likely candidate to take the ball in Game 3. The Braves added Kyle Wright to their World Series roster, and he’s capable of working multiple innings after starting for the entire season. Wright has worked almost exclusively in Triple-A this year, though, so he’s not an ideal option to start a World Series game. The Braves will also be able to add another arm to the roster as an injury replacement, but they were already reaching into their depth after fourth starter Huascar Ynoa suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last week.
It’s a relief that the Braves’ immediate announcement noted that Morton is expected to ready for the start of next season. Still, it’s a disappointing conclusion to another strong campaign for the well-respected hurler. Morton will be back in Atlanta in 2022, having signed a $20MM extension last month.